Class Action

Supreme Court will no longer accept filings at remote courthouses as of Jan. 1, 2010

Posted on December 22, 2009
The following notice recently appeared on the Supreme Court's website: EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2010, the Los Angeles Clerk's Office of the Supreme Court of California will be closed. The Supreme Court will no longer accept filings at Court of Appeal...

"Attacking Class Certification Motions"

Posted on December 18, 2009
Tuesday's Daily Journal had a perspective article, "Attacking Class Certification Motions" (subscription), on Tobacco II, Cohen, and Kaldenbach. The article is by attorneys Michael Cypers and Joshua Stokes of Crowell & Moring in Los Angeles.

New UCL public prosecutor decision: Blue Cross of California, Inc. v. Superior Court

Posted on December 17, 2009
Blue Cross of California, Inc. v. Superior Court, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Dec. 15, 2009), is a public prosecutor UCL action brought by the City of Los Angeles against a health insurer "concerning coverage rescission practices," also known as postclaims underwriting...

Two new class certification decisions: Keller v. Tuesday Morning, Inc. and In re Vioxx Class Cases

Posted on December 16, 2009
Two new class-certification-related opinions have been handed down in the past twelve days: In re Vioxx Class Cases, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Dec. 15, 2009) (Second Appellate District, Division Three) Keller v. Tuesday Morning, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Nov...

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Save the Date: CAOC's 4th Annual Class Action Seminar in January

Posted on December 11, 2009
On Thursday, January 28, 2010, CAOC will present its 4th Annual Class Action Seminar at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco. This is an all-day program. Speakers include Brad Seligman of The Impact Fund, Monique Olivier of The...

Class certification order by Judge Velasquez: In re Complete® Cases

Posted on December 10, 2009
Here is a copy of the order granting class certification issued by Orange County Superior Court Judge David C. Velasquez on November 30, 2009 in In re Complete® Cases, JCCP No. 4521. This order was mentioned in a National Law...

New opinion addresses responsibility of class counsel post-judgment: Barboza v. West Coast Digital GSM, Inc.

Posted on December 09, 2009
In Barboza v. West Coast Digital GSN, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Nov. 19, 2009), the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Four) posed the question on appeal this way: What are the obligations of class counsel when he learns...

More on Davis v. Ford Motor Credit Co.: the attorneys' fees holding

Posted on December 08, 2009
The other interesting holding of Davis v. Ford Motor Credit Co., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Nov. 19, 2009), relates to attorneys' fees. After the trial court sustained the defendant's demurrer without leave to amend, the defendant moved for attorneys' fees, arguing...

Pfizer v. Superior Court (Galfano) to be argued this morning

Posted on December 07, 2009
As mentioned here, the Court of Appeal will hear argument this morning at 9:30 a.m. in Pfizer v. Superior Court (Galfano), no. B188106, one of the Tobacco II "grant and hold" cases. I'm not expecting to receive a formal report...

Court of Appeal panel adopts third formulation of "unfair": Davis v. Ford Motor Credit Co.

Posted on December 07, 2009
In Davis v. Ford Motor Credit Co., ___ Cal.App.4th ___, 2009 WL 3859327 (Nov. 19, 2009), the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Three) discussed in detail the split in authority over the definition of "unfair" in UCL consumer...

Petition for review and depublication request filed in Cohen v. DirecTV

Posted on December 01, 2009
On November 6, 2009, a petition for review was filed in Cohen v. DirecTV, no. S177734, followed by a depublication request on November 23, 2009. (My original blog post on Cohen is available at this link.) Here's an appellate practice...

Three new UCL and class-action-related decisions

Posted on November 25, 2009
Last Thursday, November 19, 2009, was a busy day for our state appellate courts. Thirteen published opinions (and one modification of a published opinion) were issued on that date. I've been following the opinions for a long time, and that's...

Supreme Court dismisses final Tobacco II "grant and hold" case: O'Brien v. Camisasca Automotive Mfg.

Posted on November 24, 2009
On Thursday, November 19, 2009, the Supreme Court finally acted on the last of the Tobacco II "grant and hold" cases, O'Brien v. Camisasca Automotive Mfg., no. S163207. Instead of transferring the case back to the intermediate appellate panel for...

Review granted in Yabsley v. Cingular Wireless

Posted on November 23, 2009
On Thursday, November 19, 2009, the Supreme Court issued a "grant and hold" order in Yabsley v. Cingular Wireless, no. S716146, "pending consideration and disposition of a related issue in Loeffler v. Target Corp., S173972." (Hyperlink added.) Here is the...

Google Scholar now offering free online case law

Posted on November 21, 2009
My favorite online source for free case law has been Findlaw.com. Bulk.resource.org is also a very good source for federal material. And now we have Google Scholar. I tried searching for "In re Tobacco II Cases," and it gave me...

"Calif. Contact Lens Class is Certified"

Posted on November 20, 2009
Yesterday's National Law Journal had an article reporting on a recent class certification decision issued by Orange County Superior Court Judge David C. Velasquez in a UCL case.

Notes on the ABA's 13th Annual Class Action Institute

Posted on November 19, 2009
In October I mentioned that the ABA would hold its 13th Annual Institute on Class Actions on October 30 in San Francisco and November 20 in D.C. Paul Karlsgodt of ClassActionBlawg.com has some interesting notes taken by an attendee in...

Santa Clara County Counsel Impact Litigation and Social Justice Fellowship, 2010-2011

Posted on November 18, 2009
The Impact Litigation and Social Justice Section of the Santa Clara County Counsel's Office is accepting applications for a one-year Fellowship beginning next September. "The Section does a good deal of interesting consumer protection work to safeguard the health and...

Oral argument scheduled in Pfizer, Inc. v. Superior Court (Galfano)

Posted on November 17, 2009
The Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District, Division Three, has scheduled oral argument in Pfizer v. Superior Court (Galfano), no. B188106, one of the Tobacco II "grant and hold" cases. The argument will take place on Monday, December...

Great CAOC Convention this year!

Posted on November 16, 2009
CAOC's 48th Annual Convention has come to a close and it was really great this year. I heard that we had a record turnout notwithstanding the recession, which easily could have impacted attendance. Thanks to everyone who attended my segment...

"When Courts Disagree"

Posted on November 13, 2009
Tuesday's Daily Journal had a "perspective" article, "When Courts Disagree," by H. Scott Leviant, author of The Complex Litigator. The full text is available there. An excerpt: The conclusions of the Kaldenbach and Cohen Courts that Tobacco II, a decision...

Multi-Blog Post and Message to Plaintiffs' attorneys: Join CAOC!

Posted on November 12, 2009
George Washington once said: Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all. Letter of Instructions to the Captains of the Virginia Regiments [July 29, 1759]. The advocates...

U.S. Supreme Court hears argument in CAFA case: Hertz Corp. v. Friend

Posted on November 11, 2009
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in a CAFA case, Hertz Corp. v. Friend, no. 08-1107. Here is my earlier blog post discussing that case. The plaintiffs' position was argued by none other than fellow SFTLA and CAOC...

Another new opinion interpreting Tobacco II: Princess Cruise Lines, Ltd. v. Superior Court (Wang)

Posted on November 11, 2009
In a new opinion handed down yesterday, Princess Cruise Lines, Ltd. v. Superior Court (Wang), ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Nov. 10, 2009), the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Eight) came close to interpreting Tobacco II's notorious footnote 17, but...

New class certification decision: Evans v. Lasco Bathware, Inc.

Posted on November 10, 2009
In Evans v. Lasco Bathware, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Oct. 13, 2009; pub. ord. Nov. 6, 2009), which was ordered published last Friday, the Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division One) affirmed an order denying class certification in a...

Registration now open for Oct. 6 Los Angeles County Bar Association program on In re Tobacco II

Posted on September 29, 2009
Please register to attend "Need a Light? Understanding Voter Limits on Unfair Competition Actions After Tobacco II," sponsored by the Antitrust & Unfair Business Practices Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. The program will take place next Tuesday,...

New post-Tobacco UCL decision: Morgan v. AT&T Wireless Services, Inc.

Posted on September 28, 2009
I have been away on vacation for a couple of weeks and am catching up on my email and also on developments while I was away. Let me, first of all, thank Miranda for her great live-blog of the advanced...

Live-blogging tonight: "Advanced Seminar: Cutting-Edge Topics in Class Action Litigation"

Posted on September 16, 2009
It's almost 5:00 p.m. and I'm preparing to live-blog Cutting-Edge Topics In Class Action Litigation, which is taking place in Oakland at the offices of Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP. Many thanks to Wendel Rosen, the Alameda County Bar...

Advanced Class Action Seminar to be live-blogged here Sept. 15

Posted on September 10, 2009
I'm happy to announce that the "Advanced Seminar: Cutting-Edge Topics in Class Acton Litigation," sponsored by the Alameda County Bar Association, will be live-blogged here on September 15, 2009 at approximately 5:00 p.m. I can't personally attend due to a...

Registration now open for the 19th Annual Golden State Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Institute

Posted on September 04, 2009
Registration is now open for the 19th Annual Golden State Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Institute, which is scheduled for October 22, 2009 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. The Golden State Institute is sponsored every year by...

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