Class Action

New UCL restitution decision: Pineda v. Bank of America, N.A.

Posted on January 26, 2009
In the published portion of Pineda v. Bank of America, N.A., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Jan. 21, 2009), the Court of Appeal (First Appellate District, Division Three) held that Labor Code "section 203 penalties may not be recovered as restitution under...

Reminder: CAOC's Third Annual Class Action Seminar is this coming Wednesday, January 28

Posted on January 23, 2009
Just a reminder to register now for CAOC's Third Annual Class Action Seminar: Class Action Hurdles From the Plaintiff's Perspective. The seminar will take place this coming Wednesday, January 28, 2009 from noon to 5:30 p.m. (registration begins at 11:30...

Ninth Circuit refuses to enforce forum selection clause in UCL/CLRA case: Ramkissoon v. AOL LLC

Posted on January 21, 2009
In Ramkissoon v. AOL LLC, ___ F.3d ___ (9th Cir. Jan. 16, 2009), the Ninth Circuit refused to enforce a contract provision selecting Virginia state courts as the forum for all claims against AOL. California's interest in enforcing its broad...

Court of Appeal grants rehearing in Troyk v. Farmers Group, Inc.

Posted on January 20, 2009
On January 8, 2009, the Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division One) granted rehearing after the parties filed a stipulation "for the court to grant rehearing on own motion to facilitate settlement." Troyk v. Farmers Group, Inc., no. D049983...

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New UCL/CLRA decision: Paduano v. American Honda Motor Co.

Posted on January 14, 2009
In Paduano v. American Honda Motor Co., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Jan. 12, 2009), the Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division One) reinstated UCL and CLRA causes of action that the trial court had summarily adjudicated in the defendant's favor...

New class certification decision: Ghazaryan v. Diva Limousine, Ltd.

Posted on January 13, 2009
In Ghazaryan v. Diva Limousine, Ltd., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Dec. 22, 2008; pub. ord. Jan. 12, 2009), the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Seven) reversed an order denying class certification of certain wage and hour claims.

"7th Circuit Makes It Harder for Plaintiffs to Keep Securities Class Actions in State Court": Katz v. Gerardi

Posted on January 12, 2009
Today's National Law Journal has this report on a new Seventh Circuit decision, Katz v. Gerardi, ___ F.3d ___ (7th Cir. Jan. 5, 2009), which addresses whether CAFA applies to certain securities class actions and creates a split in authority...

State Bar Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section Executive Committee applications due February 2, 2009

Posted on January 09, 2009
The Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section of the State Bar of California is seeking applicants for its Executive Committee. Members of the Executive Committee serve a three-year term which would begin in September 2009. Applications (including letters of recommendation)...

U.S. Supreme Court preemption decision: Altria Group, Inc. v. Good

Posted on January 07, 2009
By now, you have probably already read the Supreme Court's new preemption decision, Altria Group, Inc. v. Good, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 538 (Dec. 16, 2008). (See this blog post for my original coverage of this case.) In Altria,...

Another new federal nationwide class certification decision: Parkinson v. Hyundai Motor America

Posted on January 06, 2009
Nationwide class certification was recently granted in another UCL and CLRA auto defect case, Parkinson v. Hyundai Motor America, 2008 WL 5233200 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 12, 2008). In that case, as in another recent decision, the court (Chief Judge Alicemarie...

Ninth Circuit publishes RSS feed for new opinions

Posted on January 06, 2009
I just discovered that the Ninth Circuit publishes an RSS feed for new opinions. This appears to be a very recent development. It is definitely a welcome one.

New federal nationwide class certification decision: Mazza v. American Honda Motor Co.

Posted on January 05, 2009
The court (Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank) granted nationwide class certification of UCL and CLRA claims in an auto defect action, Mazza v. American Honda Motor Co., ___ F.R.D. ___, 2008 WL 5256432 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 16, 2008). Many thanks to...

"3rd Circuit Remands Price-Fixing Class Action"

Posted on December 31, 2008
Today's Legal Intelligencer reports on a Third Circuit class certification decision handed down yesterday, In re Hyrdogen Peroxide Antitrust Litigation, ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. Dec. 30, 2008). Suffice it to say that the standards for certification enunciated in this...

New class member discovery decision: Crab Addison, Inc. v. Superior Court

Posted on December 30, 2008
The Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Seven) has handed down another interesting opinion on the right to pre-certification discovery of class member contact information. Crab Addison, Inc. v. Superior Court, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Dec...

Ninth Circuit denies en banc rehearing and modifies its opinion in Williams v. Gerber Products Co.

Posted on December 24, 2008
On Monday, the Ninth Circuit issued an order denying en banc rehearing and modifying its opinion in Williams v. Gerber Products Co., 523 F.3d 934 (9th Cir. 2008). Originally, the opinion contained these three sentences: We do not, however, think...

Registration now open for CAOC's Third Annual Class Action Seminar

Posted on December 23, 2008
Registration is now open for CAOC's Third Annual Class Action Seminar: Class Action Hurdles From The Plaintiff?s Perspective. The seminar will take place on the afternoon of January 28, 2009 at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco. Here...

On the Ingredients of a Successful Blawg

Posted on December 22, 2008
Mister Thorne of Set in Style (a blog on law firm publishing) has an interview with yours truly: On the Ingredients of a Successful Blawg (Dec. 16, 2008).

How to Build a Better Law Blog

Posted on December 20, 2008
C.C. Holland has some good advice in this Law.com article dated December 8, 2008.

New federal decision on UCL's extraterritorial operation: In re Mattel, Inc.

Posted on December 19, 2008
In In re Mattel, Inc., ___ F.Supp.2d ___, 2008 WL 5147996 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 8, 2008), the court (Judge Dale S. Fischer) addressed the UCL's (and the CLRA's) extraterritorial reach and narrowly interpred the Ninth Ciruict's opinion in Sullivan v....

Supreme Court modifies emVasquez/em opinion

Posted on December 18, 2008
Yesterday, on its own motion, the Supreme Court issued an order modifying one sentence of its opinion in Vasquez v. State of California, 45 Cal.4th 243 (2008). Previously, the sentence read: For example, a plaintiff suing under the Consumers Legal...

New UCL standing decision: Troyk v. Farmers Group, Inc.

Posted on December 10, 2008
A new decision handed down yesterday, Troyk v. Farmers Group, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Dec. 9, 2008) (Fourth Appellate District, Division One), addresses Prop. 64 standing in some detail (slip op. at 48-61). I will post more on the decision...

Oral argument report: Meyer v. Sprint Spectrum

Posted on December 05, 2008
Many thanks to attorney Kelly Chen for attending Wednesday's argument in Meyer v. Sprint Spectrum, no. S153846. Here is her report: This Wednesday morning in Los Angeles, the California Supreme Court heard oral argument in Meyer v. Sprint Spectrum. This...

Oral argument preview: Meyer v. Sprint Spectrum

Posted on December 03, 2008
This morning at 9:00 a.m., the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Los Angeles in an important CLRA case, Meyer v. Sprint Spectrum, no. S153846. These are the issues on review in Meyer: (1) Has a person suffered "damage"...

"Common Issues that Arise in Class Action Settlements"

Posted on December 02, 2008
The September/October 2008 issue of CAOC Forum had an article by attorney David Arbogast, "Common Issues that Arise in Class Action Settlements." CAOC members may access the article at this members-only link. (Incidentally, a special forthcoming issue of Forum will...

More thoughts on the Vasquez attorneys' fees opinion

Posted on December 01, 2008
In my original post on Vasquez, I summarized the Supreme Court's holding that Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 does not "categorically" require a prelitigation demand as a prerequisite to an attorneys' fees award. Some other aspects of the opinion...

"Five Oral Argument Tips ? For Judges"

Posted on November 26, 2008
Howard Bashman has reprinted an interesting article from the October 2008 issue of The Federal Lawyer called "Five Oral Argument Tips ? For Judges." The article provides the perspective of United States District Judge Michael W. Mosman of the District...

Statement of issues on review in Clayworth v. Pfizer, Inc.

Posted on November 24, 2008
The Supreme Court has posted its statement of issues on review in Clayworth v. Pfizer, Inc., no. S166435. The UCL-related issues are particularly interesting: (1) When plaintiffs pay overcharges on goods or services as a result of the anticompetitive conduct...

Are you in Los Angeles? And are you hiring?

Posted on November 22, 2008
Class action attorney H. Scott Leviant, author of the blog The Complex Litigator, is exploring new opportunities in the Los Angeles area. If you are thinking about expanding your practice, you should get in touch with him. I've met Scott...

"Public Interest Lawyers Secure Right to Fees"

Posted on November 21, 2008
This morning's Daily Journal has an article on the Supreme Court's decision yesterday in the Vasquez case. An excerpt: Attorney Michael Rubin of Altshuler Berzon in San Francisco ... said the opinion eliminates any potential confusion about when attorneys can...

Section 1021.5 does not require a prelitigation demand in non-catalyst cases: Vasquez v. State of California

Posted on November 20, 2008
The Supreme Court's decision in Vasquez v. State of California, ___ Cal.4th ___ (Nov. 20, 2008) is now up. The Court held that in non-catalyst cases, section 1021.5 contains no "categorial" rule requiring a prelitigation demand as a prerequisite to...

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