Recently, a California federal judge dismissed—for the second time—a suit asserting that Sojern, Inc., a travel marketing platform, violated the Federal Wiretap Act and California privacy laws by allegedly deploying “tracking technology” on two hotel websites. Crano v. Sojern, Inc., 2026 WL 1670136 (N.D. Cal. June 9, 2026).
Inside Class Actions
The latest developments and trends affecting class actions
Latest from Inside Class Actions
First Circuit Scrutinizes Causation Issues to Find No Article III Standing in Data Breach Case
By Nathan Lange
The First Circuit recently affirmed a Puerto Rico district court’s ruling dismissing a class action suit arising from a 2019 ransomware attack against a hospital in which 522,493 patients’ personally identifiable information (“PII”) and protected health information (“PHI”) was allegedly accessed by hackers, albeit in “encrypted” form. See Santos-Pagán v. Bayamon Medical Center, No. 24-2018,…
Supreme Court Curtails ATS and TVPA Class Action Lawsuits
In Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe, the Supreme Court held that federal courts cannot create new causes of action under the Alien Tort Statute for violations of international law and that the Torture Victim Protection Act does not provide for aiding-and-abetting liability.…
Non-Statistical Evidence in No-Poach Antitrust Litigation Not Enough to Certify Class, Says Illinois Court
In In re Outpatient Medical Center Employee Antitrust Litigation, 2026 WL 1678954,the Northern District of Illinois recently refused to certify a proposed class of healthcare employees who alleged that their employers entered into a “no-poach agreement” that prohibited them from recruiting each other’s senior-level personnel and thereby suppressed compensation for all employees with similar qualifications. …
Fourth Circuit Vacates Grant of Class Certification for Lack of Commonality and Predominance
By Daniel Esses
The Fourth Circuit recently vacated a district court’s grant of class certification based on a lack of commonality and predominance. See Overby v. Anheuser-Busch, LLC, 2026 WL 1718962 (4th Cir. June 15, 2026). The plaintiffs sought to represent a class of hourly employees asserting claims based on allegations that their employer had a corporate policy…
Federal Court Allows Plaintiff to Cure Standing Defect Through Early Amendment
A district court in the Northern District of California recently denied Lyft’s motion to dismiss a putative class action on Rule 12(b)(1) grounds after the plaintiff voluntarily amended her complaint under Rule 15 to cure standing issues raised by Lyft. Zigler v. Lyft, Inc., 2026 WL 1557553 (N.D. Cal. June 2, 2026). …
Third Circuit Vacates Class Counsel Fee As Excessive—Again
“Class action counsel serve a valuable role in our legal system and deserve to be paid. But not twice.” Gelis v. BMW of N. Am., LLC, No. 24-2721, 2026 WL 1691583, at *1 (3d Cir. June 11, 2026) (“Gelis II”). With that admonition, the Third Circuit for the second time vacated a $3.7 million fee…
Washington Anti-Spam Law Decision Addresses Article III Standing in CEMA Cases
By Jehan Patterson & Irene Kim
A federal court recently addressed whether plaintiffs alleging misleading commercial email practices in violation of Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act (“CEMA”) have Article III standing to pursue claims. The ruling suggests that alleged violations of CEMA, standing alone, could constitute a concrete injury for Article III standing, where the asserted harm aligns with the statute’s…
Standing Found, But Negligence Fails: Eastern District of Michigan Dismisses Data Breach Claims for Lack of Causation
By Sam Greeley
In a consolidated putative class action arising out of an alleged data breach, In re A-Line Staffing Solutions Data Security Incident Litigation, Case No. 24-cv-11917 (E.D. Mich. May 27, 2026), a Michigan district court declined to dismiss the complaint under Rule 12(b)(1) but granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss without prejudice on Rule 12(b)(6) grounds.…
Ninth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of False Advertising Suit Based on Malic Acid
By Stephen Rees
We previously covered the Southern District of California’s dismissal of a plaintiff’s claim that defendant falsely advertised that its licorice candy was “naturally flavored” because testing allegedly showed that the product contained synthetic malic acid that functioned as a flavor. Last week, in Trammell v. KLN Enters., Inc., — F.4th —-, 2026 WL 1356403 (9th…