A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit provides an important reminder that if defendants want absent class members to be bound by a summary judgment ruling in their favor, generally they must insist that notice be given to the class before that ruling is made.
In Faber v. Ciox…
Insurers and other corporations defending against putative class actions often struggle with how to try to achieve an early resolution of a putative class action, and thereby reduce legal expense, when the case is not appropriate for resolution on a motion to dismiss, or a motion to dismiss is denied. One approach is to move …
Some loyal readers of my blog may recall my June 8, 2011 blog post about the district court’s approval of the class action settlement in In re Dry Max Pampers Litigation. This case alleged that Pampers “Dry Max” diapers purportedly caused excessive diaper rash. Both the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission and Health Canada…
Objectors to class action settlements often argue that the proposed settlement is really benefiting the plaintiffs’ lawyers and not the class. It’s less common to see an argument that a settlement is benefiting the named plaintiffs at the expense of the class they are representing. The Sixth Circuit recently found such a problem, and reversed…
Plaintiffs’ lawyers seeking to certify classes against insurance companies are likely to frequently cite the Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in Young v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Nos. 11-5015 et al., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 18625 (6th Cir. Sept. 5, 2012). Although the opinion does not make it clear, this decision appears to conflict with…
The Sixth Circuit recently ruled in a health insurance case that a claim for a declaratory judgment regarding insurance contract interpretation could be certified under Rule 23(b)(2) under Wal-Mart v. Dukes, even if the declaratory relief would be a predicate to monetary relief, under which certification was sought under Rule 23(b)(3) but not yet…
