Class Action

Oral argument preview: Dukes v. Wal-Mart

Posted on March 29, 2011
This morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, no. 10-277. Transcripts of U.S. Supreme Court arguments are generally available within hours after the argument takes place. When it...

Philip Morris v. Jackson relisted again

Posted on March 21, 2011
The U.S. Supreme Court has apparently relisted Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Jackson, no. 10-735, for a second time. The case was scheduled for conference last Friday, March 18, but it is not mentioned in this morning's order list. See...

UCL case set for argument in April: Sullivan v. Oracle Corp.

Posted on March 11, 2011
The Supreme Court has released its oral argument calendar for April. The following UCL case will be heard on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. in Los Angeles: Sullivan v. Oracle Corp., no. S170577 (questions accepted 04/22/09) Issues: (1)...

Kwikset and Tobacco II footnotes

Posted on March 10, 2011
I'm sure everyone is well aware of famous footnote 17 in Tobacco II: We emphasize that our discussion of causation in this case is limited to such cases where, as here, a UCL action is based on a fraud theory...

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U.S. Supreme Court relists Philip Morris v. Jackson

Posted on March 10, 2011
The Jackson case has been relisted for conference on Friday, March 18, 2011. Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Jackson, no. 10-735. Unless the case is relisted again, the vote will be announced on the following Monday, March 21. This is...

Report on Third Circuit Sullivan argument

Posted on March 09, 2011
Barry Barnett, who either attended the Third Circuit's en banc oral argument on Feb. 23 or listened to the recording (large .wma file), provides a detailed report on his blog, Blawgletter. This case involves a nationwide settlement of price-fixing claims...

"Consumer Arbitrations at Risk"

Posted on March 08, 2011
The January 2011 issue of California Lawyer had a very interesting article by Pamela McLean on the Concepcion case, still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. The article begins: It is no accident that AT&T Mobility's ban on class actions...

U.S. Supreme Court to announce vote in Philip Morris v. Jackson today

Posted on March 07, 2011
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to announce whether cert. will be granted in Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Jackson, no. 10-735. This is the case in which Justice Scalia stayed enforcement of a $240 million class-action judgment against...

"California?s Unfair Competition Law and the No-Injury Class Action"

Posted on March 04, 2011
That is the title of my panel at the ABA Section of Antitrust Law's 59th Annual Spring Meeting, which will take place on March 30-April 1, 2011 at the JW Mariott in Washington, D.C. Here's the detailed panel description: California?s...

Dukes v. Wal-Mart merits briefs available online

Posted on March 03, 2011
The following merits briefs in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, no. 10-277, are now available online: Brief of Petitioner Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (filed 01/20/11) Brief of Respondents Betty Dukes et al. (filed 02/22/11) In addition, sixteen amicus briefs have been...

Milestone

Posted on March 02, 2011
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the launch of my firm, The Kralowec Law Group. The firm is doing great and the whole process has been incredibly rewarding. Thanks to all my friends and colleagues who have been so supportive...

Recording of Third Circuit en banc argument in Sullivan available online

Posted on March 01, 2011
The Third Circuit, sitting en banc, heard oral argument last Tuesday, February 23, 2011, in Sullivan v. DB Investments, Inc., no. 08-2784. The audio recording of the argument is available at this link (large .wma file). This is the case...

BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court to hand down Baycol decision this morning

Posted on February 28, 2011
The Supreme Court's notice of forthcoming filings from last Friday advises us that the opinion in Baycol Cases I and II, no. S178320, will be handed down today. When it is posted at 10:00 a.m., the opinion should be available...

"California Top Court Says ?Labels Matter?; Fleshes Out Prop 64 Standing Requirements"

Posted on February 25, 2011
The BNA Class Action Litigation Reporter ran this article on Kwikset on February 11, 2011. I am quoted in the article, as is Matt Bailey of Pollard Bailey (author of the Bailey Class Action Daily) and defense attorneys William F....

Two new class certification decisions: Tien v. Tenet Healthcare Corp. and Safaie v. Jacuzzi Whirlpool Bath, Inc.

Posted on February 24, 2011
The Court of Appeal has handed down two class certification opinions in the past eight days. In Tien v. Tenet Healthcare Corp., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Feb. 16, 2011), the Court of Apppeal (Second Appellate District, Division Eight) affirmed the trial...

New UCL competitor decision: No Doubt v. Activision Publishing, Inc.

Posted on February 23, 2011
The rock band No Doubt entered into a licensing agreement allowing Activision to use avatars of the band members in the video game Band Hero. When Activision used the avatars in a manner that exceeded the scope of the licensing...

"Case Study: Zhang v. Superior Court"

Posted on February 22, 2011
On February 15, 2011, Competition Law 360 had an interesting article on Zhang v. Superior Court, no. 178542, which is currently pending before the California Supreme Court. The full article, by Chris Micheletti and Jose Umbert of Zelle Hofmann, is...

"Getting your class settlement approved: Guidelines for motions for preliminary and final approval of class settlement"

Posted on February 18, 2011
Judge William Highberger and Judge Peter Lichtman of the Los Angeles County Superior Court had a great article on settlement approval motions in the January 2011 issue of Advocate, the monthly magazine of Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles...

New federal UCL standing decision: Webb v. Carter's, Inc.

Posted on February 17, 2011
Many thanks to the multiple readers who emailed me about a new federal standing decision, Webb v. Carter's, Inc., ___ F.R.D. ___, 2011 WL 343961, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12597 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 3, 2011). In Webb, District Judge Gary...

ABA teleseminar on Kwikset coming up on Tuesday

Posted on February 11, 2011
The American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law, Private Advertising Litigation Committee is putting on a free teleseminar on the Kwikset decision this Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at noon Pacific. Click here to register. The moderator of the panel will...

The best laid plans ...

Posted on February 10, 2011
I was hoping to resume regular blogging this week, but I'm still pretty much buried at work right now. A few quick things: Today the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma and reinstated the plaintiffs' case....

Quick post on Kwikset

Posted on February 04, 2011
I have been meaning to post more analysis of the Kwikset decision, but I have been swamped at work this week. I hope to get back to more regular blogging next week. Happy Friday!

Press coverage of Kwikset

Posted on January 28, 2011
Bob Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Customers can still sue over phony labels": Californians who buy products with allegedly false labels, like "Made in U.S.A.," can sue the manufacturer without having to prove that the product was...

Kwikset expressly disapproves Buckland and Citizens of Humanity on restitution issue

Posted on January 27, 2011
There's a lot to digest in this opinion, but one thing that stands out is the Court's express disapproval of Buckland and Citizens of Humanity on the restitution issue: Finally, the Court of Appeal rested its holding in part on...

Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court (Benson): the opinion is up

Posted on January 27, 2011
The Kwikset opinion is up. It is a 5-2 decision with Justices Chin and Corrigan dissenting. It appears that the plaintiffs have won the case, as summarized in the introductory paragraphs quoted below. More later. This case arises from Kwikset...

BREAKING NEWS: Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court (Benson) to be decided tomorrow

Posted on January 26, 2011
The Supreme Court's notice of forthcoming filings, posted this morning, indicates that tomorrow the Court will hand down its eagerly-anticipated opinion in Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court (Benson), no. S171845, which was argued on November 3, 2010. When the opinion...

Pre-registration deadline today for upcoming CAOC Class Action Seminar

Posted on January 21, 2011
Today is the last day to pre-register and get the reduced rate for CAOC's Fifth Annual Class Action Seminar, which will take place next Wednesday, January 26 from noon to 6:00 p.m. at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San...

New opinion addresses class counsel conflicts of interest: Kullar v. Foot Locker Retail, Inc.

Posted on January 20, 2011
In Kullar v. Foot Locker Retail, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Jan. 18, 2011), the Court of Appeal (First Appelate District, Division Three) addressed conflict of interest issues arising in the context of a class action settlement with objectors. Both The...

Ninth Circuit "unlawful" prong decision: Shroyer v. New Cingular Wireless Services

Posted on January 19, 2011
I have not previously reported on Shroyer v. New Cingular Wireless Services, 606 F.3d 658 (9th Cir. 2010), issued in May and amended in September, in which the Ninth Circuit addressed the UCL's "unlawful" prong: In his complaint, Shroyer alleged...

More U.S. Supreme Court cases to watch

Posted on January 18, 2011
Last week I mentioned Dukes and Concepcion, now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, as class action cases to watch in 2011. Here are three more U.S. Supreme Court cases involving class certification issues to be aware of: Smith v....

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