Today the U.S. Supreme Court denied a cert petition in a matter aimed at resolving whether a plaintiff who alleges a substantial risk of harm in the future has standing under Article III of the Constitution. A ruling in the case, CareFirst v. Attias, would have had major implications for data-breach litigation and in class […]
Category Archives: Class Actions
Illinois District Court Applies Bristol-Myers to Class Actions as well as Mass Tort Cases
February 20, 2018
In a recent decision, the Northern District of Illinois held the U.S. Supreme Court’s seminal decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, 137 S. Ct. 1773 (2017) applied to jurisdiction determinations in class actions. In so holding, the court in DeBernardis v. NBTY, Inc. No. 1:17-cv-06125 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 18, 2018) placed […]
A Meaningful Class Action Defense Tool? On May 16, 2016 the High Court finally spoke on Spokeo, the long anticipated case involving what injury is necessary to sustain Article III standing in federal court. Some predicted a blow to consumer protection and privacy related class actions in which neither the class representative nor the class […]
Class Certification of TCPA Claims in Sandusky Wellness Center, LLC v. MedTox Scientific, Inc. Alexander Bain, a Scotsman, worked on an experimental fax machine in the 1840’s, synchronizing the movement of two pendulums through a clock to scan messages on a line by line basis. Bain’s work resulted in a patent issued May 27, 1843 […]
Waiting For More Dough: The Eastern District of Missouri Rules that an Offer of Judgment Does Not Moot a Class Action
November 19, 2015
Panera Bread Company is, quite obviously, in the bread business. But when Mark Boswell and others filed a class action against the company for breach of contract and fraud, the case was about a different kind of dough. Boswell and the other named plaintiffs had served as Joint Venture General Managers for Panera, managing the […]
Seventh Circuit Rejects Class Plaintiff’s Attempt to Avoid CAFA Removal by Limiting Damages Sought in Complaint
April 23, 2014
On April 9, 2014, the Seventh Circuit issued its opinion in Johnson v. Pushpin Holdings, LLC, No. 14-8006 (7th Cir. April 9, 2014). In Pushpin, the Seventh Circuit held that before a class is certified, a statement by the named plaintiff in the complaint does not limit the amount of potential damages that the class […]
HeplerBroom LLC Helps Secure Dismissal of Corporate Officers in Securities Class Action
April 10, 2014
On March 18, 2014, District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. issued a Memorandum and Order dismissing the former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Patriot Coal Corporation in a stock drop securities class action filed in the Eastern District of Missouri. Glenn E. Davis, Partner in HeplerBroom LLC’s St. Louis office assisted Sidley […]
Supreme Court Refuses to Review Consumer Appliance Defect Class Actions Critics of the Supreme Court as consistently “pro-business” welcomed the Court’s February 24, 2014 order denying certiorari in a series of consumer class action cases alleging defects in millions of front loading washing machines. A pair of recent Sixth Circuit and Seventh Circuit decisions, and […]
COMMERCIAL CLEANING FRANCHISOR SWEEPS UP RICO CLAIMS — Arbitration Provision and Class-Action Waiver Clause Valid and Enforceable by Nonsignatories
February 4, 2014
Stratus Building Solutions faced a business challenge on a bet the company scale. Despite winning many franchise awards, five franchisees charged that its entire system imposed a fraud on franchisees. The plaintiffs sued 179 defendants, including the system franchisor, master (regional) franchisors, and over 70 individuals associated with the franchise system of violating §§ 1962(c) […]
In Parko, et al. v. Shell Oil Co. et al., Nos. 13-8023 & 8024 (7th Cir. Jan. 17, 2014), Judge Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently reversed an order from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois granting class certification to a group of plaintiffs […]