Legal News

Case Summaries

Class Actions

[05/02] Savedoff v. Access Group, Inc.
In a class action raising breach of contract claims, partial summary judgment for plaintiff on the issue of liability on such claims is affirmed in part and reversed in part, and remanded where: 1) the language of the contract did not limit defendant's collection of additional interest to a borrower's final monthly payment at the end of the loan term; 2) the language of the contract did not prohibit defendant from collecting additional interest from borrower's regular monthly payments; and 3) the contract was silent as to the application of borrower's monthly payments to the additional interest before applying them to reduce the principal balance.

[04/29] Negrete v. Allianz Life Ins. Co. of N. Am.
In a class action lawsuit against an insurance corporation challenging the sale of its fixed deferred annuities, an order, which effectively prevents defendant from proceeding with any settlement negotiations on similar class action claims raised in any other courts without permission from plaintiff's lead counsel, is reversed where: 1) in the context of the All Writs Act, there was no proper support for the district court's enjoining of proceedings in other courts; and 2) even if there were, the Anti-Injunction Act barred such injunction.

[04/25] Kirschbaum vs. Reliant Energy, Inc.
Certification of a class and grant of corporate defendants' motion for summary judgment on all claims related to plaintiff-employee's ERISA class action is affirmed where: 1) even if defendants had a fiduciary duty to liquidate a particular investment option in the plan (defendant-company's stock fund) and cease purchasing its shares, notwithstanding the plan's express contrary requirements; nevertheless, 2) plaintiff fell short of bearing his heavy burden to rebut the presumption that defendants satisfied their legal duties.

[04/22] Camacho v. Bridgeport Fin., Inc.
An order awarding plaintiff in a putative class action alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) over $77,000 in merits fees, costs, and fees-on-fees, based in part on the district court's multiplying the number of hours worked by each of her three attorneys by an hourly rate of $200, is vacated and remanded where the district court erred: 1) by not identifying the relevant community and by not explaining what was the prevailing hourly rate in that community for similar services by lawyers of reasonably comparable skill, experience and reputation; and 2) by awarding a "flat award" of $500 for fees-on-fees.

[04/22] Gutierrez v. Johnson & Johnson
In a class action against former employer on grounds of racial discrimination, a petition for permission to appeal a denial of class certification is dismissed where petitioner's Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 23(f) petition was untimely.

[04/22] Benzman v. Whitman
An order denying in part and granting in part defendants' motions to dismiss claims for damages against former EPA administrator, and for other relief against EPA for alleged constitutional and statutory violations in the aftermath of the 9/11 disaster, is reversed in part where the district court improperly denied defendants' motion to dismiss: 1) claims of Fifth Amendment substantive due process violations to be free from government-created health risk; and 2) constitutional claims under the Administrative Procedure Act.

[04/21] Williams v. Gerber Prods. Co.
In a class action alleging deceptive marketing of a food product for toddlers, dismissal of the suit is reversed where: 1) deficiencies in appellants' opening brief do not warrant dismissal since the claim has merit; 2) appellants have stated a claim and could plausibly prove that a reasonable consumer would be deceived by the product's packaging; and 3) the district court erred in concluding, without considering any evidence beyond the packaging itself, that appellants' complaint failed to state a viable claim.

[04/21] Chavez v. Netflix, Inc.
In an action against Netflix alleging that its advertised practices of sending customers "unlimited" DVD rentals with "1 Day Delivery" for a flat monthly rate were false wherein Netflix agreed to settle the class action before the class was certified, approval of the settlement and award of attorney fees are affirmed over claims that the trial court abused its discretion in: 1) denying a motion for leave to intervene, 2) approving a settlement agreement which failed to promote the purpose of class litigation; 3) affording a deficient notice to class members; and 4) determining the amount of fees awarded to class counsel.

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