Historically, plaintiffs seeking monetary damages and wishing to pursue their case as a class action have sought certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3), but this has become increasingly difficult. In recent years, there has therefore been a rise in the invocation of Rule 23(c)(4) at the class certification stage, often as an alternative
The Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act (Chapter 93A, Section 9) prohibits a business from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Chapter 93A litigation usually is time consuming, expensive, and exposes a company to mandatory multiple damages (if the act or practice was a knowing and willful violation of Chapter 93A) and attorneys’ fees. These
On Tuesday, April 4, 2017, at 1:00 pm ET, Greenberg Traurig Attorneys Anthony Cortez and Greg Sperla will be presenting a webinar hosted by AudioSolutionz entitled “Proposition 65 – Hot Topics and Recent Developments Affecting Consumer Product Companies.” This webinar will assist attendees to better understand the Impact of Proposition 65 on retail business and
“Ascertainability” in the context of civil litigation involves the identification of individuals who qualify for membership in a putative class action. Although not an explicit requirement under Rule 23, since the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit refused to certify a class due to difficulties in objectively and efficiently identifying class members in
Plaintiffs in consumer data breach class actions have struggled to establish Article III standing. Article III standing requires an alleged ‘‘concrete and particularized injury that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct, and is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision.’’ In Clapper v. Amnesty Int’l USA, 133 S. Ct. 1138 (2013)
On Aug. 26, 2015, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the exclusion of three expert witnesses who proffered opinions based on differential etiology as unreliable, but noted that “there may be a case where a rigorous differential etiology is sufficient to help prove, if not prove altogether both general and specific causation.” C.W. v. Textron, Inc., No. 14-3448 (7th Cir. Aug. 25, 2015). In C.W., the plaintiffs alleged that Textron, which operated a fastener manufacturing plant, released vinyl chloride, contaminating the groundwater in neighboring residential wells, including that of the plaintiffs. Plaintiffs brought claims against Textron for negligence, negligence per se, and negligent infliction of emotional distress, alleging that their two young children were exposed to the vinyl chloride, which caused illness and substantially increased their risk of cancer and other illnesses.
To support their claims, the plaintiffs proffered the testimony of three expert witnesses who opined that the children’s exposure to vinyl chloride caused illnesses and increased their risk of cancer. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, applying Daubert, excluded the testimony of the three experts, which relied on differential etiology, as not sufficiently reliable because the experts had failed to connect the dots between the available scientific studies and the illnesses endured by the children. In excluding the experts, the court found that their analysis required too great of an analytical gap between the scientific studies cited by the experts and their opinions that exposure to vinyl chloride at the doses and duration present could cause the problems that plaintiffs claim to have experienced or are likely to experience.Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Recognizes Availability of Differential Etiology to Prove Both General and Specific Causation
With two recent decisions sure to please the plaintiff’s bar, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit landed a blow to defendants facing class action and data breach lawsuits. In the first decision, the Seventh Circuit ruled that data breach plaintiffs, who regularly bring suits as class actions, have Article III standing despite
Rob Herrington, co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s National Products Liability and Mass Torts Practice, will be a featured faculty member at Bridgeport Continuing Education’s upcoming 2015 Class Action Litigation & Management Conference. This two-day event will be held April 16-17, at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, located at 506 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, Calif. 90071. The conference will examine the class action landscape, which continued to evolve dramatically in 2013 and 2014, and promises more of the same in 2015. Arbitration, rigorous inquiry, nationwide class certification, marketing reliance, actual injury and market remedial actions are all issues that dominated class action orders and opinions. Developments in economic product defect, market misrepresentation, privacy and pure omissions class actions impact most class action practitioners currently prosecuting or defending these cases.
Continue Reading Rob Herrington to Speak at Bridgeport’s 2015 Class Action Litigation & Management Conference