Class Action

Oral argument report coming on Kwikset v. Superior Court (Benson)

Posted on November 04, 2010
First of all it was a complete and total madhouse at the Civic Center this morning. My husband drove me through an obstacle course including part of the parade route on McAllister just to get to the courthouse (mind you,...

Oral argument preview: Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court (Benson)

Posted on November 03, 2010
This morning at 9:00 a.m., the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in in Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court (Benson), no. S171845, in which the issue on revivew is as follows: Does a plaintiff's allegation that he purchased a product...

A tale of two opinions

Posted on November 02, 2010
On August 26, 2010, the Second Appellate District, Division Seven, handed down an unpublished opinion, Brookler v. Radioshack Corp., 2010 WL 3341816 (Aug. 26, 2010) (no. B212893), in which it held as follows: [U]nless and until our Supreme Court holds...

Reminder: Alameda County Bar Association Employment Law Symposium today in Oakland

Posted on October 28, 2010
A reminder that the Alameda County Bar Association's Employment Law Symposium starts today at 1:00 p.m. (registration and optional lunch at noon) at the Lake Chalet in Oakland, and it's not too late to sign up. The fourth panel, running...

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Fall 2010 issue of Competition

Posted on October 27, 2010
The Fall 2010 issue of Competition, the journal of the Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section of the State Bar of California, is now out, and it has a number of articles of interest to practitioners in our field: "Outsourcing...

Supreme Court briefs in Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court (Benson)

Posted on October 26, 2010
The Supreme Court has posted online copies of the briefs in Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court (Benson), no. S171845, which is scheduled for oral argument in San Francisco on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 9:00 a.m.: S171845 - KWIKSET CORPORATION...

Supreme Court takes up UCL statute of limitations case: Aryeh v. Canon Business Solutions, Inc.

Posted on October 25, 2010
Last week, the Supreme Court granted review in a statute of limitations case, Aryeh v. Canon Business Solutions, Inc., no. S184929. In Aryeh, the Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Eight) examined the "continuing violation" doctrine and held, on...

State Bar's Antitrust and UCL Institute: Thanks for coming!

Posted on October 22, 2010
Thanks to everyone who attended the State Bar's 20th Annual Golden State Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Institute yesterday. As one of the co-organizers of the event, I could not have been more pleased with the two UCL panels. My...

U.S. Supreme Court briefing in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion

Posted on October 19, 2010
The folks at Consumer Law & Policy Blog have a very useful page with links to all of the briefs (merits and amicus) in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, no. 09-893. The page also has links to a variety of...

Please attend the State Bar's 20th Annual Golden State Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Institute this Thursday

Posted on October 18, 2010
It's not too late to register for the State Bar's 20th Annual Golden State Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Institute, which will take place this Thursday, October 21, 2010 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. The panels...

BASF Oct. 23 program CANCELLED

Posted on October 16, 2010
If you registered for the BASF program, "Strategies for Launching and Running a Small Law Office," scheduled for Saturday, October 23, the program has unfortunately been cancelled. The BASF Solo & Small Firm Committee is planning to run each of...

BREAKING NEWS: Eleventh Circuit issues new opinion on rehearing in Cappuccitti v. DirecTV

Posted on October 15, 2010
Today the Eleventh Circuit handed down a new opinion on rehearing in the Cappuccitti case. Cappuccitti v. DirecTV, ___ F.3d ___ (11th Cir. Oct. 15, 2010). More on this new opinion later.

Supreme Court grants review in class certification case: Faulkinbury v. Boyd & Associates

Posted on October 14, 2010
Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted review in Faulkinbury v. Boyd & Associates, no. S184995. Briefing is deferred pending resolution of Brinker. According to the docket, five depublication requests were filed. Both the review petition and at least two of the...

New Jersey Supreme Court class certification decision: Lee v. Carter-Reed Co.

Posted on October 12, 2010
On September 30, 2010, the New Jersey Supreme Court handed down a noteworthy decision in which it reversed denial of class certification in a consumer fraud case involving a dietary supplement. Lee v. Carter-Reed Co., ___ A.3d ___ (Sept. 30,...

U.S. Supreme Court class arbitration case set for argument: AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion

Posted on October 11, 2010
At the Consumer Attorneys of California Class Action Symposium last Friday, I learned that oral argument has been scheduled for Tuesday, November 9, 2010 in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, no. 09-893. This is the case in which the U.S....

Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge's View by Stephen Breyer

Posted on October 10, 2010
Today's San Francisco Chronicle has a review of the new book by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge's View . I have Justice Breyer's earlier book, Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution , and...

CASD Class Action Symposium starts today in San Diego

Posted on October 08, 2010
I'm in San Diego today for the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego 3rd Annual Class Action Symposium. If you are here please come up to me and say hi. I will also be at the judges' reception tonight. Today also...

"Courts split on affirmative defenses"

Posted on October 07, 2010
On September 24, 2010, the Wisconsin Law Journal had a short article discussing recent decisions on whether the "heightened pleading standard" of Twombly and Iqbal applies to a defendant's affirmative defenses as well as to the plaintiff's complaint. At least...

Oral argument scheduled in Kwikset Corp v. Superior Court (Benson)

Posted on October 06, 2010
Yesterday, the Supreme Court posted its oral argument calendar for November. Argument has been set for Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. in Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court, no. S171845. This is the issue on review, according to the...

Thoughts on Clark v. Superior Court (Nat'l Western Life Ins. Co.)

Posted on October 05, 2010
I've been meaning to write more on Clark v. Superior Court (Nat'l Western Life Ins. Co.), 50 Cal.4th 605 (Aug. 9, 2010). In Clark, the Supreme Court held that the enhanced remedies of Civil Code section 3345 (applicable in certain...

Blog pages updated

Posted on October 04, 2010
I've updated my list of pending California Supreme Court cases of interest to practitioners in our field. The main update was to move the decided cases, such as Clayworth, Clark and County of Santa Clara, from the pending section to...

Supreme Court briefs in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum)

Posted on October 01, 2010
Speaking of Supreme Court briefs, everything in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum), no. S166350, is collected and available online at this link. The review petition, answer and reply; the fifteen letters in support of review; the merits briefs;...

Supreme Court briefs in Pineda v. Bank of America

Posted on September 30, 2010
The Supreme Court has posted copies of the briefs in Pineda v. Bank of America, no. S170758, which is scheduled for oral argument in Fresno on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 1:30 p.m.: S170758 - PINEDA v. BANK OF AMERICA...

Another new Ninth Circuit class certification decision: Wang v. Chinese Daily News, Inc.

Posted on September 29, 2010
In Wang v. Chinese Daily News, Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (9th Cir. Sept. 27, 2010), the Ninth Circuit affirmed a final judgment entered following trial in a wage and hour class action. Part of the opinion affirms the order granting...

New Ninth Circuit class certification decision: Bateman v. American Multi-Cinema, Inc.

Posted on September 28, 2010
Yesterday, in Bateman v. American Multi-Cinema, Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (9th Cir. Sept. 27, 2010), the Ninth Circuit reversed an order denying class certification of a claim brought under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act ("FACTA"), 15 U.S.C. §§...

Federal developments of interest: Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Scott; Sullivan v. DB Investments, Inc.

Posted on September 27, 2010
On Friday, September 24, 2010, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia entered an order staying enforcement of a $240 million judgment entered in Louisiana state court in a class action against the tobacco industry. The order states that the Supreme...

Another federal judge in California declines to follow Cappuccitti: In re DirecTV Early Cancellation Litigation

Posted on September 24, 2010
In In re DirecTV Early Cancellation Litig., ___ F.Supp.2d ___, 2010 WL 3633079, *9-*10 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 7, 2010), Judge Guilford of the Central District joined Judge Alsup of the Northern District in declining to follow Cappuccitti v. DirecTV, Inc.,....

New UCL competitor action applying Clayworth: Finelite, Inc. v. Ledalite Architectural Products

Posted on September 23, 2010
Many thanks to the blog reader who forwarded a recent decision by U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney, Finelite, Inc. v. Ledalite Architectural Products, 2010 WL 3385027 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 26, 2010). Finelite is competitor action arising from misstatements by one...

"California 17200: Its Nature, Function and Limits"

Posted on September 22, 2010
The Summer 2010 edition of the Federalist Society's State Court Docket Watch is entitled "California 17200: Its Nature, Function and Limits." It has interesting remarks from Will Stern of MoFo (author of the Rutter Group 17200 practice guide), Scott Leviant...

Recently-published UCL res judicata opinion: Fireside Bank Cases

Posted on September 16, 2010
About three weeks ago, the Court of Appeal (Sixth Appellate District) published a new opinion called Fireside Bank Cases, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Jul. 28, 2010; pub. ord. Aug. 25, 2010). You may remember the Supreme Court's opinion in this same...

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