The American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) recently published a set of modified Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules and a new Consumer Mass Arbitration and Mediation Fee Schedule, both effective January 15, 2024. The modified rules and fee schedule aim to address the increasingly prevalent tactic of plaintiffs’ firms launching mass arbitration campaigns against defendants with arbitration
Class Action & Mass Torts
Washington State Court Dismisses Wiretapping and Other Claims Involving Hospital Website
A Washington court recently dismissed with prejudice putative class action claims against Seattle Children’s Hospital asserting that use of third-party tracking technology on its website constituted wiretapping and other privacy law violations.…
Federal Court Dismisses Lawsuit Over Use of Pixel Technology on University Hospital Websites
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa has dismissed on sovereign immunity grounds a putative class action against the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (“UIHC”) for unjust enrichment and violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. See Yeisley v. Univ. of Iowa Hosps. &…
Another Federal Court Holds that Recall Moots Class-Action Claims
Another federal judge in the Eastern District of Michigan dismissed a putative class action against a vehicle manufacturer on prudential mootness grounds, holding that the manufacturer’s voluntary recall program mooted the plaintiffs’ claims. See Letson v. Ford Motor Co., 2024 WL 845844 (E.D. Mich. Feb. 28, 2024).…
Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Data Privacy Claims Based on Disclosure of Collection in Privacy Policy
In class actions challenging data collection, whether the defendant’s privacy policy disclosed the collection is almost always a key question at the dismissal stage. In a memorandum decision likely to be useful to defendants, the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed dismissal of claims challenging Google’s collection of data from third-party apps on its Android mobile operating…
New York Federal Court Denies Motion to Dismiss False Advertising Suit Based on “Carbon Neutral” Claims
The Southern District Court of New York recently denied a motion to dismiss a false advertising lawsuit against a water bottle company, holding that a reasonable consumer could be misled by the company’s “carbon neutral” labeling.…
“Greenwashing” Claims Certified For Class Treatment
This blog recently covered a decision from the Northern District of California denying a defendant’s motion for summary judgment on a plaintiff’s “greenwashing” claims, which asserted that defendant’s “non-toxic” and “Earth-friendly” labels were false and misleading. See Bush v. Rust-Oleum Corp., 2024 WL 308263 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 26, 2024). Now, the same court has granted…
Ninth Circuit Dismisses Website Framing Claim as Preempted by Copyright
The Ninth Circuit recently dismissed a putative class action by an online business over allegations that Google placed search results over the business’s website. While the district court had denied a motion to dismiss, the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that copies of websites are not chattel that could support a trespass to chattel claim and…
Illinois Federal Court Partially Dismisses Wiretapping, BIPA Claims Involving Home Security Products
The District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently granted in part a motion to dismiss a putative class action complaint asserting wiretapping, Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), and consumer protection claims relating to their eufy home security cameras and video doorbells (the “Eufy Products”). See Sloan, et al. v. Anker Innovations Ltd.,…
Judge Highlights Trend of Narrow Reading of VPPA In Class Action Dismissal
A federal judge in the Western District of Texas recently sided with a growing trend of rulings adopting a narrow reading of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) in dismissing a putative class action against the operators of a Texas Longhorns email newsletter. The case involved tracking pixels embedded in videos that were linked in…