A California federal judge has largely granted summary judgment in a data privacy lawsuit against Yodlee, Inc., finding that two of the five plaintiffs lacked Article III standing for all remaining claims and that the three other plaintiffs lacked Article III standing for—and failed to create genuine disputes of fact on the merits about—two of their three remaining claims. Covington represents Yodlee in this action. Clark v. Yodlee, No. 20-cv-05991-SK (N.D. Cal.).
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Ninth Circuit Denies Class Certification because Causation Theory Requires Individual Analysis of Claims
By Class Actions Team on
Posted in Ninth Circuit
In a recent decision, the Ninth Circuit offered a useful reminder that the need for individualized proof of causation can affect multiple elements of the Rule 23 test for class certification.
In Small v. Allianz Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., No. 23-55821, — F.4th —-, 2024 WL 5051192 (9th Cir. Dec. 10, 2024), resolving a District Court split, the Ninth Circuit adopted a “causation” theory of harm for claims asserting that an insurance company had violated the California Insurance Code, holding that plaintiffs must show not only that an insurance company violated the Code (violation-only theory), but also that the violation of the Code caused a plaintiff harm (causation theory).
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Denies Class Certification because Causation Theory Requires Individual Analysis of ClaimsNinth Circuit Gives Plaintiffs Second Chance at $91 Million in Statutory Damages
By Class Actions Team on
In Montera v. Premier Nutrition Corp., — F.4th —, 2024 WL 3659589 (9th Cir. Aug. 6, 2024), the Ninth Circuit vacated and remanded a district court’s statutory damages award, holding that an aggregate award of statutory damages is not subject to the Supreme Court’s State Farm due process standard for punitive damages, but should instead be assessed in light of the proportionality and reasonableness of the aggregate award considering the legal violation committed.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Gives Plaintiffs Second Chance at $91 Million in Statutory DamagesJudge Makes Class Action Claims Against “Magic Avatar” AI App Disappear
By Class Actions Team on
On August 6, 2024, Judge Jorge L. Alonso of the Northern District of Illinois issued an order dismissing Brantley v. Prisma Labs, Inc., a proposed class action suit against the creator of the “Magic Avatar” AI app for lack of standing and lack of personal jurisdiction over the representative plaintiff Tyrone Brantley.
Continue Reading Judge Makes Class Action Claims Against “Magic Avatar” AI App DisappearSupreme Court Receives Filings with Key Implications for Climate Change Tort Suits
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The Supreme Court will soon decide whether to hear two cases that could dictate the future of climate change tort suits. Such suits have proliferated in recent years: several dozen active cases assert state tort law claims—like nuisance, trespass, and strict liability—against oil and gas companies for fueling and misleading the public about climate change. The two pending cases go to the very foundations of these claims.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Receives Filings with Key Implications for Climate Change Tort SuitsSeventh Circuit Declines to Deepen Circuit Split on Incentive Awards
By Class Actions Team on
In Scott v. Dart, 99 F.4th 1076 (7th Cir. 2024), the Seventh Circuit held that incentive awards are sufficient to confer standing on named plaintiffs in appeals of class certification orders. In doing so, it declined to follow a recent Eleventh Circuit decision holding that incentive awards are unlawful.
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Declines to Deepen Circuit Split on Incentive AwardsNinth Circuit Holds that Unexecuted Damages Model is Sufficient for Class Certification
By Samuel Crimmins & Class Actions Team on
In a recent decision, the Ninth Circuit concluded that a damages model that had been developed, but not actually applied to the underlying data, sufficiently showed that damages were susceptible to common proof for purposes of class certification.
The case, Lytle v. Nutramax Lab’ys, Inc., — F.4th— 2024 WL 1710663 (9th Cir. Apr. 22, 2024) concerns allegations that the defendants misled purchasers of their dog supplement—marketed as improving dogs’ joints and mobility—when allegedly no such benefits exist. To support class certification, the plaintiffs put forward an expert who had created a conjoint survey that they claimed could calculate damages on a class-wide basis. However, the plaintiffs conceded that the expert had not yet applied his analysis, relying instead on the expert’s prediction that his analysis could successfully measure the damages suffered by the class.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Holds that Unexecuted Damages Model is Sufficient for Class CertificationIn Rare Move, Fourth Circuit Exercises Pendent Jurisdiction Over Non-Final Order
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In Elegant Massage, LLC v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 95 F.4th 181 (4th Cir. 2024), the Fourth Circuit took the unusual step of exercising interlocutory appellate jurisdiction over an order denying a motion to dismiss. Having granted a petition for interlocutory review under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f) of a class certification order, the court concluded that its review of the class order required it also to review the district court’s earlier denial of the defendant’s motion to dismiss.
Continue Reading In Rare Move, Fourth Circuit Exercises Pendent Jurisdiction Over Non-Final OrderNew York Federal Court Denies Motion to Dismiss False Advertising Suit Based on “Carbon Neutral” Claims
By Class Actions Team on
The Southern District Court of New York recently denied a motion to dismiss a false advertising lawsuit against a water bottle company, holding that a reasonable consumer could be misled by the company’s “carbon neutral” labeling.
Continue Reading New York Federal Court Denies Motion to Dismiss False Advertising Suit Based on “Carbon Neutral” ClaimsNinth Circuit Dismisses Website Framing Claim as Preempted by Copyright
By Class Actions Team on
Posted in Ninth Circuit, Technology
The Ninth Circuit recently dismissed a putative class action by an online business over allegations that Google placed search results over the business’s website. While the district court had denied a motion to dismiss, the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that copies of websites are not chattel that could support a trespass to chattel claim and that the Copyright Act preempted the remaining claims of unjust enrichment, implied in law contract, and unfair competition.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Dismisses Website Framing Claim as Preempted by Copyright