$94M Fee Bid In Auto Parts Antitrust MDL Rejected, For Now

By Dorothy Atkins

A Michigan federal judge on Friday rejected class counsel's request to add $94 million to the $269 million fee award they have already secured for cutting deals totaling $1.2 billion resolving automotive parts antitrust litigation, finding that the request is excessive and premature, but allowing counsel to revise it in the future.

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Sirius XM Can't Escape WCPA Suit Over Music Royalty Fees

By Gina Kim

A Washington federal judge allowed Sirius XM subscribers to proceed with their proposed class action alleging the company tricks them into paying a 21.4% per month "U.S. Music Royalty Fee" without describing the charges, ruling Monday they sufficiently allege a claim under the state's consumer protection statute.

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Marriott Gets Worker's Wage Suit Tossed, For Now

By Irene Spezzamonte

A Washington federal judge reconsidered his prior decision sending a Marriott worker's wage and hour suit back to state court, agreeing with the hotel giant's argument that the amount in controversy is above $5 million, and dismissed the proposed class action while allowing the worker to update his claims.

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BCBS Defends $2.8B Provider Antitrust Deal Amid Objections

By Dorothy Atkins

Blue Cross Blue Shield asked an Alabama federal judge on Friday to approve a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement with hospitals and other healthcare providers over its territorial policies, arguing that recent objections to the deal's release provision are meritless and the settlement preserves "key, procompetitive features" of the insurance system.

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LinkedIn Antitrust Deal Offers Open Access And $4M For Attys

By Bryan Koenig

LinkedIn will stop conditioning online interface access on would-be rivals agreeing not to field their own professional social network, under an antitrust settlement with premium subscribers disclosed Friday in California federal court that promises $4 million for class attorneys from Bathaee Dunne LLP, Burke LLP and Korein Tillery PC.

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Brief

Masimo Corp. Settles Investor Suit Over Revenue Disclosures

By Carla Baranauckas

Masimo Corp. has settled proposed class claims alleging the health technology firm misrepresented the company's finances and plans to investors, according to a filing in Southern California federal court.

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Nvidia Investors Push For Cert. After High Court Pass

By Jessica Corso

Nvidia Corp. investors are asking a California judge to grant them class status on claims that the chipmaker and its CEO undersold the company's reliance on the volatile crypto market, putting the case back in the spotlight six months after the U.S. Supreme Court pulled the plug on issuing a ruling.

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NBA Deal Investor Suit Doesn't Hold Up, Warner Bros. Says

By Hailey Konnath

Warner Bros. Discovery has asked a New York federal judge to throw out investors' proposed class action over its failed negotiations for a new media rights agreement with the NBA, arguing that the investors haven't pointed to any evidence showing that Warner Bros. intended to mislead them about the deal.

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Judge Says Med Device 401(k) Fee Suit Should Get A Trim

By Grace Elletson

A Massachusetts federal magistrate judge recommended narrowing a proposed class action claiming a medical technology company saddled its retirement plan with excessive fees and abused forfeited funds, ruling the workers failed to show the business violated the plan's terms.

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Brief

Honeywell Resolves Ohio Worker's Overtime Pay Dispute

By Hayley Fowler

Honeywell has settled a former Ohio employee's lawsuit alleging that the conglomerate failed to pay her for all hours worked, including automatically deducting lunch breaks she often didn't take and not paying her for time spent undergoing COVID-19 screenings before each shift, court documents show.

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Home Depot Faces Suit Over Worker Moonlighting Ban

By Chart Riggall

Home Depot Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action from a former retail worker who alleged that the company is violating Washington state labor laws by banning its lowest-earning employees from moonlighting at second jobs.

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NC Bakery Accused Of Denying Workers Overtime Pay

By Katherine Smith

A Durham, North Carolina-based bakery is being accused of paying its employees a flat hourly rate regardless of how many hours they worked in violation of labor law, according to a proposed collective action filed in North Carolina federal court.

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Ex-Tech Worker Says Expenses Suit Shouldn't Be Arbitrated

By Patrick Hoff

A customer experience technology company can't force arbitration in a lawsuit alleging remote workers weren't reimbursed for internet service and computers they were mandated to purchase, an ex-employee told a Colorado federal court, arguing the company can't show that she and another worker signed valid arbitration agreements.

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Amazon Aims To Flush 'Greenwashing' Toilet Paper Suit

By Mike Curley

Amazon.com Inc. is asking a Washington federal court to throw out a proposed class action alleging it "greenwashed" its toilet paper products by misleading consumers about the source of wood for the products, saying the plaintiffs can't read their subjective expectations into the labeling.

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Mazda Slams 'Frivolous' Filings In Tossed Oil Burning Suit

By Mike Curley

Mazda Motor of America Inc. is threatening sanctions against the leader of a now-dismissed proposed class action alleging it sold vehicles with an oil burning defect, saying he is retreading since-debunked arguments and misstating facts in his bid to revive his case.

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Brief

Nipple Cover Co., Customer Agree To Drop False Ad Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

The woman behind a lawsuit accusing Cakes Body LLC of making reusable nipple covers that don't live up to their "grippy, not sticky" representations has quietly dropped her proposed class claims against the company in California federal court.

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Mich. Tribe Says Sovereign Immunity Bars Data Breach Claims

By Crystal Owens

A Michigan tribe is backing its stance in federal court to dismiss a proposed class action by a group of casino employees, arguing the workers are looking to usurp recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent in a way to all but eliminate tribal sovereignty.

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Cigna Denies Responsibility For Alleged Health Data Breach

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Cigna has asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to throw out class claims by health plan members alleging it failed to protect their private data, arguing they didn't show how their sensitive information was intercepted from the insurer's websites.

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Fla. Says High Court Rulings Back Trans Care Medicaid Ban

By Grace Elletson

Florida told the Eleventh Circuit that recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings affirm the legality of a state law banning Medicaid payments for gender-affirming medical care, arguing its restrictions mirror a similar Tennessee law upheld by the justices because it centers on gender dysphoria diagnoses, not one's sex.

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Airbnb Wants Out Of Pittsburgh House Party Shooting Suit

By Matthew Santoni

Airbnb said it has resolved all but one of a group of lawsuits brought against it after a 2022 mass shooting at a party at a Pittsburgh house rented through the app, and has renewed its objections to the last remaining claims from the family of a shooting victim.

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TD Bank Defends $3 Monthly Paper Statement Fee

By Gina Kim

TD Bank has urged a New York federal judge to end a proposed class action alleging it illegally charges customers a $3 fee if they receive checking account paper statements every month, arguing Monday it has the authority under the National Bank Act to levy non-interest charges and fees.

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State Law Challenges In Enforcing Arbitration Clauses

In recent cases, state courts in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Jersey have considered or endorsed heightened standards for arbitration agreements, which can mean the difference between a bilateral arbitration and a full-blown class action in court, says Fabien Thayamballi at Shapiro Arato.

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What To Know About Bill Aiming To Curb CIPA

A bill pending in the California Assembly would amend the California Invasion of Privacy Act to allow for the use of website tracking technologies for commercial business purposes, limiting class actions seeking damages under the act for industry standard practices, say Katherine Alphonso and Avazeh Pourhamzeh at Kaufman Dolowich.

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How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

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2 NY Legal Services Shops Go On Strike, More Could Follow

By Andrea Keckley

Two member shops of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys — a union that represents thousands of public interest attorneys and advocates in the New York City metro area — commenced strikes Tuesday, with deadlines for others looming later this week as the ALAA hopes its sectoral bargaining strategy will lead to better contracts.

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Funding 'Crisis' Jeopardizes Indigent Defense, Judiciary Says

By Courtney Bublé

The judiciary rang the alarm on Tuesday that funding has been exhausted for the private attorneys who represent indigent federal criminal defendants, and this predicament is expected to last for three months.

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Keesal Young Accuses Stradley Ronon Of Unfair Poaching

By Emma Cueto

Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young has been hit with allegations from California firm Keesal Young & Logan that it unfairly poached both shareholders and associates from the firm, allegedly conspiring with the departing attorneys to violate their agreements with the firm and costing Keesal Young $2.5 million in annual profits.

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Advocates Turn To Florida High Court For Bondi Ethics Probe

By Madison Arnold

A group of attorneys, law professors and former judges asked the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday to order the Florida Bar to investigate U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for alleged unethical conduct.

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Bankruptcy Experts Call For Reset On Sub V, Student Debt

By Rick Archer

A group of judges and bankruptcy experts told a congressional panel Tuesday that a reset is needed for the eligibility cap for Subchapter V bankruptcies and the standards for discharging student loan debt.

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Court Reporters Defend Suit Saying Group Coerces Dues

By Bryan Koenig

A pair of court reporters defended their New Jersey federal court proposed class action accusing the National Court Reporters Association of anticompetitively conditioning needed certification on expensive membership with the group, arguing the NCRA can't try to argue that membership and certification are one and the same.

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Grassley Rejects Dems' Push For 2nd Hearing On Emil Bove

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday rebuffed the request from Democrats on his committee for the whistleblower who made claims regarding Third Circuit nominee Emil Bove to testify and said the committee will proceed with the vote on Bove's nomination Thursday.

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