Tag Archives: “race discrimination”

Illinois District Court Denies Certification of Discrimination Action Due to Problematic Class Representatives

By Greg Mersol on June 11, 2020 Posted in Discrimination

A key premise of a class action is that a court can, in essence, review the merits of the class representative’s claims and apply the result of that review across the class as a whole. This concept is most readily found in Rule 23(a)(2) (commonality), (a)(3)(typicality) and (a)(4)(adequacy of representation), but it also finds its way into … Continue Reading

California District Denies Certification of Race Claim Involving Claimed “English-Only” Restaurant Policy

By Greg Mersol on January 23, 2020 Posted in Class Certification, Discrimination

While class actions may prove lucrative for the plaintiffs who bring them, most cases just aren’t suitable for class action treatment and many would likely fare far better if the plaintiffs simply limited themselves to a single employee or location. Case in point. In Guzman v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Case No. 17-cv-02606-HSG (N.D. Cal. … Continue Reading

Seventh Circuit Holds That Opt-Outs Lack Standing To Challenge Settlement

By Greg Mersol on October 7, 2019 Posted in Discrimination

What were they thinking, anyway? Eighteen months ago, a group of African American financial advisors brought suit against JPMorgan Chase for alleged race discrimination and retaliation. They sought to assert claims on behalf of a class of 273 individuals. The parties immediately entered into settlement discussions and reached an agreement to resolve the claims for … Continue Reading

Seventh Circuit Reverses Certification of Construction Workers’ Race Discrimination Classes  Based Upon Wal-Mart

By John Lewis on August 13, 2012 Posted in Discrimination, Retail

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in an opinion written by Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook, reversed an Order certifying two multi-site classes of black construction workers alleging race discrimination based upon the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011). In Bolden v Walsh Construction.pdf, (No. … Continue Reading

Court Dismisses Class Race Claims for Failure to Raise in Charge

By Greg Mersol on May 31, 2012 Posted in Discrimination

Illinois District Court Refuses to “Supersize” Race Discrimination Claims Against McDonald’s In this day and age when discrimination lawsuits are commonplace, it is all too easy to forget that Title VII was passed in the hopes that discrimination claims could and would be resolved outside of court. When Congress enacted Title VII, it expressly included … Continue Reading

Court Certifies Class of Black New York City Firefighters In Remediation Phase of Case

By Greg Mersol on June 27, 2011 Posted in Discrimination, Rule 23, Title VII

A recent case from the Eastern District of New York reflects that race discrimination class actions can be brought, and also reflects the type of claim which will likely still survive in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. ___ (2011). (See our June 20 post on the … Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgement in Multiple-Plaintiff Firefighter Case

By Greg Mersol on December 28, 2010 Posted in Discrimination, Public Sector

Litigation often begets more litigation. A recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reflects that even 35 years after it thought it settled a lawsuit regarding the hiring and promotion of officers in its fire department, the City of Memphis, Tennessee is still embroiled in litigation involving some of … Continue Reading