Archives: Class Action

Third Circuit Reverses Certification of ADA Accommodations Class Based on Retail Store Access

By Greg Mersol on July 12, 2022 Posted in Class Action

Class action disability discrimination cases can be particularly difficult. While there is little question of whether a particular individual is in a protected group in a typical case involving race, gender or age, the question of whether an individual is disabled can be more complex. Further, questions may arise regarding the extent of a disability, whether … Continue Reading

Dead End for Class Certification? Ninth Circuit Provides Roadmap for Defending Independent Contractor Misclassification Class Claims

By Todd Lebowitz and Matthew Goodman on July 8, 2022 Posted in Class Action, Class Certification

For businesses using independent contractor vendors, misclassification claims are usually well-suited for class certification. A plaintiff’s path toward certifying a class can be relatively smooth when all vendors of a particular kind are treated as contractors. The argument goes that if one is misclassified, all are misclassified. But a new Ninth Circuit ruling may help … Continue Reading

Lessons from 2021 on Avoiding Class Action Claims for Meal and Rest Break Violations in California

By Margaret Rosenthal, Shareef Farag and Ari Spitzer on February 4, 2022 Posted in California, Class Action, Meal and Rest Periods

In 2021, the California Supreme Court handed down two important decisions, Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC and Ferra v. Loews Hollywood, LLC, that reinforce and refine tried-and-true lessons about meal and rest breaks. As California employers look ahead to their 2022 goals and try to lessen their risk of class action employment claims based on … Continue Reading

Third Circuit Rejects District Court’s Trial-Before-Certification Plan

By Greg Mersol on October 20, 2021 Posted in Class Action, Class Action Litigation, FLSA, Off-the-clock, Rule 23

Years ago, employers argued unsuccessfully that plaintiffs should not be able to pursue so-called hybrid claims pursuing both Rule 23 opt-out classes and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) opt-in collective claims at the same time. They noted that combining the two would create procedural anomalies and that doing so would make case resolution unwieldy. They … Continue Reading

Court Refuses to Certify Class for Allegedly Defective Flight Attendant Uniforms – Claims About Uniforms Not Themselves Uniform

By Greg Mersol on August 20, 2021 Posted in Class Action

The United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin has refused to grant certification in a two-year-old dispute over uniforms for airline personnel. In Gilbert v. Lands’ End, Inc., Case No. 19-cv-823-jdp (W.D. Wisc. Aug. 18, 2021), Delta Airlines contracted with the Lands’ End clothing company to provide uniforms for some of its … Continue Reading

While the Ninth Circuit Added Clarity in Its Recent Uber Opinion, Legislative Challenges to Mandatory Arbitration May Be Ahead

By John Lewis on August 11, 2021 Posted in Class Action

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit panel ruled that Uber Technologies drivers don’t fall within the Section 1 exemption of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to mandatory arbitration because they are not a class of workers “engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.” Accordingly, the drivers were properly compelled by the district court … Continue Reading