Justia Class Action Opinion Summaries

The case involves a putative class action brought by the plaintiff against Kimberly Clark Corp., alleging that the labeling of the defendant's baby wipes was misleading under California's false advertising laws. The plaintiff claimed that the terms "plant-based wipes" and "natural care®" on the front label, along with nature-themed imagery, suggested that the wipes contained only natural ingredients without chemical modifications. However, the wipes contained synthetic ingredients.The United States District Court for the Central District of California separated the product labels into two categories: those with an asterisk and a qualifying statement ("Asterisked Products") and those without ("Unasterisked Products"). The district court dismissed the plaintiff's claims, concluding that both categories were not misleading as a matter of law. The court reasoned that the asterisk and qualifying statement on the Asterisked Products clarified that the wipes were not entirely plant-based, and the back label's disclaimer about synthetic ingredients dispelled any potential misrepresentation for both categories.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the case. The court reversed the district court's dismissal of the plaintiff's claims regarding the Unasterisked Products, holding that the front label could plausibly mislead a reasonable consumer to believe the wipes contained only natural ingredients, precluding reliance on the back label at the pleadings stage. However, the court affirmed the dismissal of claims regarding the Asterisked Products, finding that the asterisk and qualifying statement, along with the back label, made it impossible for the plaintiff to prove that a reasonable consumer would be deceived. The court also rejected the defendant's argument that the complaint failed to meet the particularity requirements of Rule 9(b). The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the court's opinion. View "WHITESIDE V. KIMBERLY CLARK CORP." on Justia Law

Plaintiff Mark Coziahr filed a class action against Otay Water District, alleging that Otay's tiered water rates for single-family residential customers violated Section 6(b)(3) of Proposition 218, which mandates that property-related fees not exceed the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel. The trial court certified the class and found that Otay failed to meet its burden of demonstrating compliance with Section 6(b)(3). In the remedy phase, the court awarded an estimated refund of approximately $18 million, with monthly increases until Otay imposed compliant rates. Otay appealed the liability decision and damages, while Coziahr appealed only as to damages.The Superior Court of San Diego County found that Otay's tiered rates were based on non-cost objectives like conservation and did not correlate with the actual cost of providing water service. The court determined that Otay's reliance on peaking factors and adherence to industry standards were insufficient to justify the tiered rates. The court also found that Otay discriminated against single-family residential customers by charging them more for water than other customer classes without a cogent reason. The court rejected Otay's peaking factor analysis and Mumm's independent analysis as flawed and unsupported by the record.The California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One, affirmed the trial court's liability determination, holding that Otay did not establish its tiered rates complied with Section 6(b)(3). The court found that Otay's evidence did not withstand independent review and that the trial court properly applied the principles from Capistrano and Palmdale. However, the appellate court reversed the refund amount, finding the trial court's calculations unreasonable due to reliance on projected data and a proxy from another case. The matter was remanded for a new trial on the refund amount, including monthly increases and prejudgment interest. The judgment was otherwise affirmed. View "Coziahr v. Otay Wat. Dist." on Justia Law

In September 2021, cybercriminals targeted a chain of pawnshops, a payday lender, and a prepaid-card company, exposing customers' personal information. The companies informed customers of the breach weeks later, leading to three nationwide class-action lawsuits in the District of Minnesota. The companies moved to dismiss the cases, arguing lack of standing and failure to state a claim, but did not mention arbitration. They continued to engage in litigation activities, including briefing issues, preparing a discovery plan, and requesting a pretrial conference. There is a dispute about whether the companies mentioned arbitration during the pretrial conference, but no formal motion to compel arbitration was filed until months later.The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota found that the companies had waived their right to arbitration by substantially engaging in litigation. The court noted that the companies had no credible explanation for their delay in filing the motion to compel arbitration, despite allegedly deciding to do so during the pretrial conference.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court's decision. The appellate court applied a two-part test to determine waiver of the right to arbitration, focusing on whether the party knew of the right and acted inconsistently with it. The court concluded that the companies had knowledge of their right to arbitration and acted inconsistently by engaging in extensive litigation activities. The companies' actions, including participating in a motion-to-dismiss hearing and scheduling mediation, were deemed to have substantially invoked the litigation machinery, thus waiving their right to arbitration. The court emphasized that the companies' delay and litigation conduct were inconsistent with promptly seeking arbitration. View "Thomas v. Pawn America Minnesota, LLC" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs William Pace and Robert Walters leased apartments at Hamilton Cove, a complex in Weehawken, New Jersey, based on advertisements claiming 24/7 security. After moving in, they discovered that the security was not as advertised. They filed a complaint in March 2022, alleging common law fraud and violations of the Consumer Fraud Act (CFA), seeking to certify a class of similarly affected tenants. The leases included a class action waiver, which defendants argued should prevent the class action. Plaintiffs contended the leases were unconscionable contracts of adhesion.The trial court denied defendants' motion to dismiss, finding the complaint sufficiently pled fraud. The Appellate Division affirmed, holding that class action waivers in contracts without mandatory arbitration provisions are unenforceable as a matter of public policy. The court distinguished this case from AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, which upheld class action waivers in arbitration agreements under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The Appellate Division emphasized New Jersey's public policy favoring class actions for consumer protection.The Supreme Court of New Jersey reviewed the case and reversed the Appellate Division's decision. The Court held that class action waivers in consumer contracts are not inherently contrary to public policy and can be enforceable unless found to be unconscionable or invalid under general contract principles. The Court found that the class action waiver in the lease agreements was clear and unambiguous, and the leases were not unconscionable. Therefore, the class action waiver was enforceable, and plaintiffs must pursue their claims individually. The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. View "Pace v. Hamilton Cove" on Justia Law

This case involves a class action lawsuit against Logan Health Medical Center ("Logan Health") following a significant data breach of its information technology systems. The breach, which occurred on November 22, 2021, exposed highly sensitive personal identifying information and protected health information of over 200,000 current and former patients and others affiliated with Logan Health. Patricia Tafelski, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, filed a complaint against Logan Health. After a series of negotiations, the parties agreed to a settlement of $4.3 million for a common fund. The District Court granted preliminary approval of the proposed settlement on December 6, 2022.The District Court of the Eighth Judicial District, in and for the County of Cascade, granted final approval of the Settlement Agreement, awarded Class Counsel attorney fees, and denied the Objectors’ motion for discovery. The Objectors, Mark Johnson and Tammi Fisher, appealed the order, arguing that the attorney fees of 33.33% of the settlement fund were unreasonable and that their motion for discovery was wrongly denied.The Supreme Court of the State of Montana affirmed the lower court's decision. The court found that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in awarding Class Counsel attorney fees. The court also found that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in denying the Objectors’ motion for discovery. The court noted that the District Court had made adequate findings on each of the factors for determining the reasonableness of attorney fees and that those findings were supported by the record. The court also noted that the District Court had conscientiously considered the nature of the litigation and the interests of the class in denying the Objectors’ motion for discovery. View "Tafelski v. Johnson" on Justia Law

The case revolves around Robert Nightingale, who owed money to National Grid. The company hired two debt collectors who called Nightingale more than twice over several seven-day periods throughout 2017 and 2018. Nightingale sued National Grid and the debt collectors under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, alleging that the calls invaded his privacy and caused him emotional distress. He also sought to certify a class of Massachusetts residents who had experienced similar invasions of privacy due to excessive calls from the defendants.The case was moved to federal district court, which declined to certify the class, stating that it did not meet the predominance requirement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3). The district court also granted summary judgment to the defendants, finding that Nightingale had not demonstrated a cognizable injury under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit disagreed with the district court's rulings. The appellate court held that Nightingale had alleged cognizable injuries, vacated the district court's grant of summary judgment, and also vacated the denial of class certification. The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the appellate court's opinion. The court found that Nightingale's receipt of unwanted calls constituted a cognizable invasion of privacy, and that his emotional distress was a cognizable injury under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act. The court also found that the district court had applied an incorrect legal rule in its class certification analysis. View "Nightingale v. National Grid USA Service Company Inc." on Justia Law

The case involves a consumer, Yoram Kahn, who alleges that Walmart Inc., the nation's largest retailer, engages in deceptive and unfair pricing practices. Kahn claims that there are small discrepancies between the prices advertised on Walmart's shelves and the prices actually charged at the cash register. These discrepancies, he alleges, add up to hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Kahn argues that these practices violate the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and other states' consumer protection statutes. He also brings a claim for unjust enrichment and seeks to sue on behalf of a class of similarly situated consumers.The district court dismissed the case on the pleadings and denied leave to amend the complaint. The court reasoned that providing a customer with a receipt after payment stating the actual price charged is sufficient to dispel any potential deception or unfairness caused by an inaccurate shelf price. The court also held that Kahn failed to allege that Walmart intended for him to rely on the inaccurate shelf pricing.The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the district court's decision. The appellate court held that the complaint states some viable claims. The court rejected the theory that providing a receipt after payment is sufficient to dispel any potential deception or unfairness caused by an inaccurate shelf price. The court also found that Kahn had adequately alleged a deceptive or unfair practice and the required intent. The court remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Kahn v. Walmart Inc." on Justia Law

The case involves Gillian and Samuel Davidson, who filed a class action lawsuit against Sprout Foods, Inc., alleging that the labels on Sprout's baby food pouches violated California's Sherman Law, which incorporates all federal food labeling standards. The Davidsons claimed that Sprout's labels, which stated the amount of nutrients the pouches contained, were misleading and harmful to consumers.The district court dismissed the Davidsons' claims. It ruled that the Sherman Law claim was preempted by federal law, which only allows the federal government to enforce food labeling standards. The court also dismissed the Davidsons' fraud-based claims, stating that they failed to specifically allege why Sprout's products were harmful.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part. The court held that federal law did not preempt private enforcement of the Sherman Law's labeling requirements. The court reasoned that the federal food labeling statute permits states to enact labeling standards identical to the federal standards, which California has done through the Sherman Law. Therefore, the district court should not have dismissed the Sherman Law claims. However, the court affirmed the dismissal of the Davidsons' fraud-based claims, agreeing with the lower court that the Davidsons failed to meet the heightened pleading requirements for fraud. The court also reversed the dismissal of an unjust enrichment claim, which survived due to the reversal on the Sherman Law claim. View "Davidson v. Sprout Foods, Inc." on Justia Law

The case revolves around a data privacy dispute involving Pebbles Martin and LCMC Health Holdings and Louisiana Children’s Medical Center (collectively, “LCMC”). Martin filed a class action suit alleging that LCMC violated Louisiana law by embedding tracking pixels onto its website that shared her private health information with third-party websites. The question before the court was not to determine the merits of Martin’s claims, but instead to determine which forum—state or federal—is proper to hear this dispute. LCMC argued that the suit should proceed in federal court because it acted under the direction of a federal officer when it allegedly violated Louisiana law. Martin, however, argued that the suit should remain in state court because LCMC fails to show a basis for federal jurisdiction.LCMC had removed the case to federal court, invoking the federal officer removal statute as the basis for jurisdiction. Martin moved to remand to state court, and the district court granted Martin’s motion, holding that LCMC did not act under the direction of a federal officer when it disclosed private health information to third-party websites. LCMC appealed the remand order.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision. The court concluded that LCMC did not act under the direction of a federal officer when it embedded tracking pixels onto its website. The court noted that a hospital does not act under the direction of the federal government when it maintains an online patient portal that utilizes tracking pixels. Therefore, the federal officer removal statute does not provide jurisdiction for this case to be heard in federal court. The court affirmed the district court’s order remanding this case to state court. View "Martin v. LCMC Health Holdings" on Justia Law

The case involves a group of plaintiffs who filed a class-action lawsuit against KIND, LLC, a snack food company. The plaintiffs alleged that the phrase "All Natural" on the labels of KIND's products was deceptive and misleading. They sought damages on behalf of themselves and three classes, based on common law fraud, as well as consumer protection and false advertising laws in New York, California, and Florida.The District Court for the Southern District of New York granted KIND's motion for summary judgment, concluding that the plaintiffs had failed to establish how a reasonable consumer would understand the term "All Natural." The court held that this was fatal to the plaintiffs' claims because without showing how a reasonable consumer understood the term, the plaintiffs could not explain how or why they were materially deceived. The court also granted KIND's motion to preclude two of the plaintiffs' expert opinions from the summary judgment record and to decertify the classes.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court's decision. The appellate court held that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in precluding the opinions of the plaintiffs' experts. The court also held that because the plaintiffs failed to present admissible evidence of what a reasonable consumer would expect of KIND products labeled "All Natural," the District Court did not err in concluding that there was no triable issue of fact as to whether reasonable consumers would be misled by the "All Natural" labeling. The court further held that the plaintiffs' arguments regarding class decertification were moot because the District Court's grant of summary judgment was affirmed. View "In re: Kind LLC "Healthy and All Natural" Litigation" on Justia Law