Class Action

Recent class certification decision: In re BCBG Overtime Cases

Posted on August 15, 2008
In In re BCBG Overtime Cases, 163 Cal.App.4th 1293 (Jun. 13, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division Three) approved the filing of an evidentiary, preemptive motion by the defendant to deny class certification ? before the plaintiff...

More briefs from Fairbanks v. Superior Court

Posted on August 14, 2008
Many thanks to the blog reader who forwarded some additional amicus curiae briefs from Fairbanks v. Superior Court (no. S157001), the CLRA/insurance case now pending before the Supreme Court: Amicus Curiae Brief of Consumer Attorneys of California (filed 07/17/08) Amicus...

"L.A. Targets Insurers With Unlikely Law"

Posted on August 13, 2008
Today's Daily Journal has an article, "L.A. Targets Insurers With Unlikely Law" (subscription) reporting on a group of UCL actions recently filed by the City Attorney of Los Angeles against a number of insurers for cancelling their customers' health insurance...

Recent Ninth Circuit UCL decision: Clemens v. DaimlerChrysler Corp.

Posted on August 13, 2008
In Clemens v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., ___ F.3d ___, 2008 WL 2840662 (9th Cir. July 24, 2008), the Ninth Circuit addressed the UCL's "fraudulent" prong: Generally, to be actionable under the UCL, a concealed fact must be material in the sense...

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New UCL/CLRA choice-of-law decision: Brack v. Omni Loan Co.

Posted on August 13, 2008
In Brack v. Omni Loan Co., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Jun. 17, 2008; pub. ord. Jul. 16, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division One) refused to enforce a choice-of-law provision in a consumer loan contract, holding that California...

Merits briefs from Supreme Court CLRA case: Fairbanks v. Superior Court

Posted on August 12, 2008
Thanks to a loyal blog reader, I can share with you the following briefs from Fairbanks v. Superior Court (Farmers New World Life Ins. Co.), no. S157001 (review granted 11/14/07), in which the Supreme Court will address whether the CLRA...

Supreme Court sets attorneys' fees case for oral argument: Vasquez v. Superior Court

Posted on August 11, 2008
The Supreme Court has set Vasquez v. Superior Court, no. S143710, for oral argument on September 3, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. in San Francisco. The Court will be deciding this issue: Does the rule that, in order to receive attorney...

"The Blog and Short of It"

Posted on August 09, 2008
Greg May, author of The California Blog of Appeal, writes about what it's like to be a law blogger in an article in the August 2008 issue of Citations, the magazine of the Ventura County Bar Assosication.

Other countries have class actions, too: International Justice

Posted on August 08, 2008
An interesting new new web page, International Justice, introduces us to class action laws around the globe: More than 30 countries have now adopted systems of group litigation, and other countries are actively debating enactment of such procedures. In some...

Supreme Court grants review in attorney advertising case: Simpson Strong-Tie Co. v. Gore

Posted on August 07, 2008
On July 30, 2008, the Supreme Court granted review in Simpson Strong-Tie Co. v. Gore, no. S164174. These are the issues on review: (1) Which party bears the burden of persuasion with respect to the applicability of the anti-SLAPP exemptions...

New CLRA decision: Ball v. FleetBoston Financial Corp.

Posted on August 06, 2008
In Ball v. FleetBoston Financial Corp., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Jun. 5, 2008; pub. ord. Jul. 7, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division Three) addressed whether the Consumers Legal Remedies Act ("CLRA") applies to credit card transactions...

New Mexico Supreme Court strikes down no-class-action arbitration clause: Fiser v. Dell Computer Corp.

Posted on August 05, 2008
I'm still catching up with some of the decisions handed down while my blog was on hiatus in June. In Fiser v. Dell Computer Corp., ___ S.W.3d ___ (N.M. Jun. 27, 2008), the New Mexico Supreme Court refused to enforce...

New Ninth Circuit class certification decision: Parra v. Bashas', Inc.

Posted on August 04, 2008
In Parra v. Bashas', Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (July 29, 2008), the Ninth Circuit reversed an order denying class certification of plaintiffs' claim for pay discrimination based on national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act...

"High Court Justices Go Digital to Access Founding-Era Documents"

Posted on August 02, 2008
Law.com had an article earlier in the week on The Constitutional Sources Project, which "has digitized and made freely available online more than 11,000 historical documents relating to the Constitution and the amendments." That's a link to bookmark. [Via How...

New Court of Appeal opinion in Mervyn's on remand

Posted on July 31, 2008
Yesterday, the Court of Appeal (First Appellate District, Division Four) handed down its third opinion (and its second published one) in the case between Mervyn's and Californians for Disability Rights: Californians for Disability Rights v. Mervyn's, LLC, ___ Cal...

Two recent Seventh Circuit class certification decisions: Rahman v. Chertoff and Larson v. JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Posted on July 29, 2008
The Seventh Circuit has recently handed down two new decisions relating to class action procedure (in addition to the new CAFA "less is not more" decision discussed at this blog post): In Rahman v. Chertoff, ___ F.3d ___ (7th Cir....

Statement of issue on review in County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court (ARCO)

Posted on July 28, 2008
The Supreme Court has posted its statement of the issue on review in County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court (ARCO), no. S163681. It is short and to the point: This case presents the following issue: May a public entity...

New UCL ?injury in fact? decision: Medina v. Safe-Guard Products, Int?l, Inc.

Posted on July 28, 2008
In Medina v. Safe-Guard Products, Int?l, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Jun. 19, 2008) (Fourth Appellate District, Division Three), the Court of Appeal held that an insurance contract issued by an unlicensed insurer is nonetheless enforceable. The Court had some harsh...

"Be careful what you wish for"

Posted on July 27, 2008
On July 10, 2008, the Santa Ynez Valley Journal had an opinion piece by attorney Rosslyn (Beth) Hummer on Prop. 64 and In re Tobacco II, now pending before the California Supreme Court. After examining the issues on review in...

?Living la vida blawga and staying within ethical bounds?

Posted on July 26, 2008
The July 2008 issue of Plaintiff Magazine has an article called "Living la vida blawga and staying within ethical bounds." The article features quotations from J. Craig Williams of May it Please the Court, Denise Howell of Bag and Baggage,...

California AG files UCL/FAL action against Countrywide

Posted on July 25, 2008
On June 24, 2008, California Attorney General Jerry Brown filed a UCL and FAL action against Countrywide Home Loans. People v. Countrywide Financial Corp., No. LC081846 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed June 25, 2008). Here is a copy of the complaint....

BREAKING NEWS: Review granted in County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court (Atlantic Richfield Co.)

Posted on July 24, 2008
Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted review in County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court (Atlantic Richfield Co.), no. S163681. This is the case in which the Court of Appeal held that public entities may hire outside attorneys to handle "ordinary...

Court of Appeal mentions defendant classes: Farwell v. Sunset Mesa Property Owners Association, Inc.

Posted on July 23, 2008
In Farwell v. Sunset Mesa Property Owners Association, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Jun. 18, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Eight), penned this paragraph on defendant class actions: We note here that the adequacy of the representation...

"Workers Can't Catch a Break from Calif. Court"

Posted on July 23, 2008
This morning's Recorder has an article on the Court of Appeal's opinion, handed down yesterday, in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum), ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (July 22, 2008). The Brinker court reversed an order granting class certification of meal...

Four new CAFA opinions from the federal appellate courts

Posted on July 22, 2008
The Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fourth, Seventh and Ninth Circuits have all issued CAFA-related opinions in recent weeks: In Luther v. Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, LP, ___ F.3d ___ (9th Cir. Jul. 16, 2008), the Ninth Circuit held...

"Google Sued for Selling Ads on Parked Domains"

Posted on July 22, 2008
Information Week had an article last Tuesday on a new UCL action that my firm recently filed against Google. The action challenges certain aspects of Google's AdWords program, specifically, the practice of charging advertisers for ads placed on parked domain...

New Ninth Circuit decision on insurance coverage for UCL and CLRA claims: Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. v. American Home Assurance Co.

Posted on July 21, 2008
In Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. v. American Home Assurance Co., ___ F.3d ___ (9th Cir. July 15, 2008), the Ninth Circuit held that the defendant's "professional liability" and "general liability" policies did not obligate the insurers to indemnify or...

"To blog or not to blog: That is the question"

Posted on July 19, 2008
The June 2008 issue of Plaintiff Magazine has a story called "To blog or not to blog: That is the question" (pdf). The article quotes a number of Northern California-based law bloggers. UPDATE: Speaking of blogging, today (and yesterday) I'm...

Extension of time and more briefs in County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court (Atlantic Richfield Co.)

Posted on July 18, 2008
Last week, the Supreme Court gave itself an extension of time, through August 15, 2008, to grant or deny review in County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court (Atlantic Richfield Co.), no. S163681. This is the case that addresses whether...

New UCL "unfair" prong decision: In re Red Light Photo Enforcement Cases

Posted on July 17, 2008
In In re Red Light Photo Enforcement Cases, 13 Cal.App.4th 1314 (Jun. 13, 2008), the Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division One) appeared to assume without deciding that a UCL claim may be predicated on an attempt to enforce...

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