Class Action

New opinion on collateral estoppel in class action cases: Johnson v. GlaxoSmithKline, Inc.

Posted on October 09, 2008
In Johnson v. GlaxoSmithKline, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Sept. 19, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Seven) expressed a great deal of skepticism about the legal underpinnings of a notorious decision from 2006 on the operation of...

Supreme Court denies review in CLRA case: Ball v. FleetBoston Financial Corp.

Posted on October 08, 2008
Last week, the Supreme Court denied review in Ball v. FleetBoston Financial Corp., no. S165154. This case raised the issue of whether the CLRA applies to credit card transactions. See Ball v. FleetBoston Financial Corp., 164 Cal.App.4th 794 (2008). In...

Five years and counting ...

Posted on October 08, 2008
I created this blog five years ago today.

New UCL "abstention doctrine" decision: Center for Biological Disversity, Inc. v. FPL Group, Inc.

Posted on October 07, 2008
Those of you who closely followed the heavy trial-level activity post-Prop. 64 may remember a significant ruling on Prop. 64 standing in a group of 13 cases that were pending before Judge Ronald M. Sabraw when Prop. 64 passed (see...

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"Where Are All the Female Law Bloggers?"

Posted on October 06, 2008
A Law.com article today asks, "Where Are All the Female Law Bloggers?" Hello, here's one right here! I don't know about other women bloggers, but I have had no problems promoting my blog, finding time to write it, or dealing...

CAOC Annual Convention, Nov. 7-9, 2008

Posted on October 06, 2008
The 47th Annual Convention of Consumer Attorneys of California will take place on November 7-9, 2008 in San Francisco and online registration is now open. The convention will feature different "tracks" throughout each day. I am currently slated to speak...

"Principal" vs. "principle"

Posted on October 04, 2008
In a curious coincidence, three courts confused the words "principal" and "principle" in opinions issued within the past ten days: "[N]ot all class members will want to [rescind] because it requires returning the loan priniciple in exchange for the release...

Class action against a newspaper? No prior restraints allowed: Freedom Communications, Inc. v. Superior Court

Posted on October 03, 2008
In Freedom Communications, Inc. v. Superior Court, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Sept. 30, 2008), the Court of Appeal reversed an order prohibiting the the Orange County Register from reporting on the trial of a wage and hour class action in which...

New CLRA decision: Bourgi v. West Covina Motors, Inc.

Posted on October 02, 2008
In Bourgi v. West Covina Motors, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Sept. 24, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Eight) discussed what happens when the CLRA overlaps more specific statutory provisions (here, provisions of the Vehicle Code)...

New class certification decision: Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Superior Court

Posted on October 01, 2008
Last Friday, in Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Superior Court, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Sept. 26, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Sixth Appellate District) refused to disturb an order granting class certification, holding that the legal arguments the defendant advanced in opposition to...

Seventh Circuit holds that TILA rescission cases may not proceed as class actions: Andrews v. Chevy Chase Bank

Posted on September 30, 2008
In Andrews v. Chevy Chase Bank, ___ F.3d ___ (7th Cir. Sept. 24, 2008), the Seventh Circuit held that claims for rescission (as distinct from damages) under the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1601 et seq.) may not...

New CLRA attorneys' fees decision: Shisler v. Sanfer Sports Cars, Inc.

Posted on September 26, 2008
In Shisler v. Sanfer Sports Cars, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Sept. 25, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Sixth Appellate District) reaffirmed the rule that the CLRA authorizes attorneys' fees to a prevailing defendant only upon proof of the plaintiff's subjective...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reverses class decertification in meal and rest period case: Salvas v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Posted on September 25, 2008
In Salvas v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., ___ N.E.2d ___, 2008 WL 4291637 (Mass. Sept. 23, 2008), the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts reversed an order decertifying a class of current and former Wal-Mart hourly workers who claimed that Wal-Mart failed...

The UCL and the "business judgment rule": Hill v. State Farm Mutual Auto Ins. Co.

Posted on September 22, 2008
A lengthy opinion on the "business judgment rule" concludes with this paragraph: Plaintiffs asserted three theories of liability: breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and violation of the Unfair Competition Act. The claim...

Seeking successful depublication requests

Posted on September 19, 2008
I am always trying to figure out what types of arguments the California Supreme Court finds persuasive in deciding whether to depublish a Court of Appeal opinion under Rule of Court 8.1125. As we all know, depublication orders are quite...

New class certification decision: Lee v. Dynamex, Inc.

Posted on September 18, 2008
In Lee v. Dynamex, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Aug. 26, 2008; pub. ord. Sept. 17, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Seven) reversed an order denying class certification because the trial court had refused to permit discovery...

Washington Supreme Court finds class action ban unconscionable: McKee v. AT&T Corp.

Posted on September 17, 2008
In McKee v. AT&T Corp., ___ P.3d ___ (Wash. Aug. 28, 2008), the Supreme Court of Washington refused to enforce a no-class-action arbitration clause, finding it substantively unconscionable. A tidbit: "Courts will not be easily deceived by attempts to unilaterally...

Vasquez oral argument

Posted on September 16, 2008
The docket confirms that on Wednesday, September 3, 2008, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Vasquez v. State of California, no. S143710, which raises the following issue: Does the rule that, in order to receive attorney fees under Code...

"Class Action Settlements: The Basics and New Developments" - September 24, 2008

Posted on September 15, 2008
On Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at noon, the Litigation Section of the Barristers Club of the Bar Association of San Francisco will present a one-hour program called "Class Action Settlements: The Basics and New Developments." The speakers are Kelly M...

Blog hiatus until Sept. 15

Posted on September 01, 2008
Happy Labor Day! The blog will be on hiatus until the week of September 15. Please continue to email me (uclpractitioner@gmail.com) with decisions, news, comments, questions, etc. For anyone who is interested, don't forget that the Supreme Court will be...

Recent UCL "injury in fact" decision: Peterson v. Cellco Partnership

Posted on August 29, 2008
In Peterson v. Cellco Partnership, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Jun. 26, 2008; pub. ord. Jul. 21, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division Three) held that the trial court properly sustained the defendant's demurrer without leave to amend...

New class action attorneys' fees decision: In re Lugo

Posted on August 28, 2008
Here is an interesting case. In In re Lugo, 164 Cal.App.4th 1522 (Jul. 21, 2008), the class action device was used in the context of a habeas corpus proceeding to compel the Board of Parole Hearings to provide timely parole...

Recent class-action-related opinions from other Circuits

Posted on August 27, 2008
The Second, Fifth and Eleventh Circuits have issued some interesting class-action-related opinions in recent weeks: In In re: Nortel Networks Corp. Securities Litig., ___ F.3d ___ (2d Cir. Aug. 19, 2008), the Second Circuit affirmed an attorneys' fees award in...

New class certification decision: Medrazo v. Honda of North Hollywood

Posted on August 26, 2008
In Medrazo v. Honda of North Hollywood, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Jul. 29, 2008; pub. ord. Aug. 21, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Four) reversed an order denying class certification of UCL and CLRA claims predicated on...

New Ninth Circuit UCL restitution decision: Theme Promotions, Inc. v. News America Marketing FSI

Posted on August 25, 2008
In Theme Promotions, Inc. v. News America Marketing FSI, ___ F.2d ___ (9th Cir. Aug. 20, 2008), the Ninth Circuit affirmed the trial court's determination that the monetary loss the plaintiff suffered did not constitute "restitution" within the meaning of...

New Third Circuit preemption decision: Fellner v. Tri-Union Seafoods, L.L.C.

Posted on August 22, 2008
In Fellner v. Tri-Union Seafoods, L.L.C., ___ F.3d ___ (Aug. 19, 2008), the Third Circuit held that the FDA's "regulatory actions" did not preempt certain non-disclosure claims brought under New Jersey law. On Aug. 20, The Legal Intelligencer reported that...

New UCL "safe harbor" decision: Yabsley v. Cingular Wireless, LLC

Posted on August 21, 2008
In Yabsley v. Cingular Wireless, LLC, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Aug. 18, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Six) held that an administrative regulation (specifically, a provision of the California Code of Regulations) can provide a Cel-Tech "safe...

Free webinar: "Introduction to Law Blogs - What Works and What Doesn't"

Posted on August 19, 2008
On Thursday, August 21, at 9:00 a.m. Pacific, Kevin O'Keefe of LexBlog fame will offer a free webinar called "Introduction to Law Blogs - What Works and What Doesn't." The webinar will cover, among other things: Advantages of law blogs...

Final approval and attorneys' fees orders in Ford Explorer Cases

Posted on August 19, 2008
Many thanks to the blog reader who forwarded these orders signed by Judge De Alba in the Ford case (Ford Explorer Cases, JCCP Nos. 4266 & 4270): (Amended) Final Order and Judgment of Final Approval of Class Action Settlement (filed...

"UCL Standing to Seek Injunctive Relief: Is a Restitutionary Loss Required?"

Posted on August 18, 2008
The July/August 2008 issue of CAOC's Forum magazine just arrived in the mail. It has my latest article, "UCL Standing to Seek Injunctive Relief: Is a Restitutionary Loss Required?" The article addresses two opposing federal decisions on that topic, Walker...

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