Class Action

Expert Analysis

• New Ruling May Revive Mutual Fund Securities Litigation

  

  For years, mutual fund shareholders have been limited in their ability to successfully allege securities fraud in class actions. But with a recent New York federal court decision in Youngers v. Virtus Investment, it is likely that mutual fund investors will bring and survive dispositive motions at the pleading stage and attain favorable settlements, say Geoffrey Coll and Marco Molina of BakerHostetler.

• Mad Hacks: Legal Ramifications Of Continued Car Hacking

  

  As technology in cars continues to evolve, regulatory compliance will become increasingly important, and there will be greater emphasis on accurately disclosing cybersecurity risks to consumers. Those involved in the auto industry, including manufacturers, dealerships and software suppliers, will likely be at an increased risk of regulatory exposure and possibly litigation as well, says Carolyn Theis at Armstrong Teasdale LLP.

• Why The Government's Wall Of Secrecy Must Fall

  

  In recent years, investors in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have challenged the federal government in court, following the government's decision to hide thousands of documents in the name of executive privilege. This case has critical implications for the transparency and accountability of the government's actions, says Saikrishna Prakash, the James Monroe Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia Law School.

• Spokeo Aftermath: A Look At The 11th Circ. Approach

  

  In only a few short months, the Eleventh Circuit signaled its approach to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Spokeo through the treatment of cases under both the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, seemingly limiting the Supreme Court’s decision to its narrow facts, says Matthew Rosenkoff at Taylor English Duma LLP.

• What Have Merchants Gained From Payment Card Litigation?

  

  Antitrust enforcers and businesses have been waging a slow war against payment card fees, slowly chipping away at the effect of those fees on businesses' bottom lines. But that progress recently took a major step backward when the Second Circuit threw out a watershed settlement between the payment card industry and merchants, say attorneys with Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC.

• Questions Over Preemption In Monster’s False Ad Case

  

  Although the Ninth Circuit’s statement and application of the law in Fisher v. Monster Beverage are not novel or unexpected, what is novel and potentially of interest are the plaintiffs’ unusual claims and a somewhat rare finding of federal preemption of state consumer deception laws, says Christopher Van Gundy at Keller and Heckman LLP.

• Writing Arbitration Clauses To Get The Arbitration You Want

  

  Agreeing to arbitration clauses can be complicated because you may risk locking in a factually incorrect judgment. Merril Hirsh and Nicholas Schuchert of Troutman Sanders LLP explain the mechanics of the Federal Arbitration Act and how to ensure you find the right arbitration laws for your case.

• Takeaways From Decisions Following Campbell-Ewald

  

  Class action defendants that have attempted to implement the U.S. Supreme Court’s Campbell-Ewald guidance have been almost uniformly thwarted in their efforts to moot the class actions through tender. All is not lost, however, as a recent decision by the District of Massachusetts suggests another path forward for certain types of class actions, say Colleen Gulliver and Timothy Birnbaum of DLA Piper LLP.

• OPINION: Spokeo’s Federalism Problem

  

  Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Spokeo, some creative defense lawyers are arguing that federal lawsuits based upon state law claims should be dismissed for lack of Article III standing. While clever, this argument is short-sighted, as it undermines the Class Action Fairness Act's intent to protect defendants from the vicissitudes of state courts, say Gregory Frank and Asher Hawkins at Frank LLP.

• 9 Tips For Becoming A Legal Pundit In The Media

  

  Have you ever been reading your morning paper or watching the nightly news, and found yourself wondering, “How did that lawyer get on TV? I could do that.” If you’ve decided you want to start putting yourself or your law firm in the public light but feel at a loss about how to start, there are several steps you can take to get noticed, says Annie Scranton at Pace Public Relations.