Appellee Thomas Fox and others failed to pay their delinquent property taxes in certain Michigan counties and had their property foreclosed on and sold. However, the counties kept all of the sale proceeds and not just the money that was owed. In some cases, the counties kept tens of thousands of dollars beyond what was
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Seventh Circuit Vacates 25% Attorneys’ Fee Award
The 7th Circuit recently vacated a 25% attorneys’ fee award in In re Stericycle Securities Litigation, No. 20-2055, 2022 WL 1564997, at *1–14 (7th Cir. May 18, 2022). The Court’s reasoning focused on the previous litigation against the defendant.
Years before this litigation, a former Stericycle employee brought a qui tam action under the False…
Seventh Circuit Strikes Down Stealth Class Actions
By Trent Taylor & Drew Gann
In Ali v. City of Chicago, —F.4th—, 2022 WL 1548176 (May 17, 2022), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down one litigant’s attempt to employ a “stealth” class action.…
Seventh Circuit Construes CAFA Exception for the First Time
The 7th Circuit in Schutte v. Ciox Health, LLC., construed the Local Controversy Exception to the Class Action Fairness Act.[1] CAFA’s Local Controversy Exception applies, in pertinent part, if “during the 3-year period preceding the filing of that class action, no other class action has been filed asserting the same or similar factual…
Ninth Circuit Case Reflects Split Judicial Landscape Regarding Intervenors’ Appellate Rights in Class Settlements
A recent Ninth Circuit decision—In re Cathode Ray Tube Antitrust Litig., 20-15697, 2021 WL 4306895 (9th Cir. Sept. 22, 2021)—that prevented a group of plaintiffs from challenging the approval of a settlement award in a price-fixing case might be on its way to the Supreme Court. Although non-precedential, the case reflects continuing uncertainty as to…
Fourth Circuit Outlines Burden of Proof for Objector to Class Action Settlement
In 1988 Trust for Allen Children Dated 8/8/88 v. Banner Life Insurance Co., 2022 WL 774731 (4th Cir. Mar. 15, 2022), the Fourth Circuit identified the correct burden of proof required for a party to object to a proposed class action settlement under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e)(5).…
Seventh Circuit Stresses the Distinction Between Article III Standing and Antitrust Standing
Last week, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued an opinion clarifying the distinction between two distinct, but often closely related concepts: Article III standing and the more prudential doctrine known as “antitrust standing.”…
Eleventh Circuit Denies Petition to Appeal a Sua Sponte Remand of a “Class Action”
In Ruhlen v. Holiday Haven Homeowners, Inc., 11th Cir. No. 21-90022, 2022 WL 701622 (11th Cir. Mar. 9, 2022), the Eleventh Circuit denied a petition for permission to appeal a district court’s sua sponte remand of a case to state court.
Initially, this case was filed in Florida state court by a group of current…
Fourth Circuit Upholds Class Settlement Despite Absent Class Member’s Objections to Notice, Fees, and Scope of Release
On a question of first impression in the Fourth Circuit, McAdams v. Robinson, 2022 WL 401806 (4th Cir. Feb. 10, 2022) concluded that absent class members[1] objecting to a magistrate judge’s jurisdiction over settlement are not “parties” under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). So a magistrate judge does not need the consent of an absent…
First Circuit Upholds Sanctions Related to Attorney’s Fees
In Arkansas Teacher Retirement System v. State Street Corporation, — F.4th —-, 2022 WL 391450 (1st Cir. Feb. 9, 2022), the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s sanction of law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP (“Lieff Cabraser”) related to class action attorney’s fees.
Lieff Cabraser, along with several other firms,…