class certification | Private Surgeon General Class Action Defender

Comcast Corp. v. Behrend: Courts Must Assess Merits of Plaintiffs’ Damages Evidence at Class Certification

By Rebekah Kaufman and Jacob Harper on March 28th, 2013 Posted in Class Certification

Yesterday, in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 569 U.S. __ (2013), the Supreme Court answered a looming class certification question left open by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. __ (2011): whether a putative class action plaintiff must offer credible evidence of damages applicable on a class-wide basis before the district court can certify a… Read More

“All Natural” False Advertising Class Certified in Arizona Iced Tea Case

By Rebekah Kaufman and Alexis Amezcua on December 4th, 2012 Posted in False Advertising Claims

A federal judge in the Northern District of California has certified a California class of Arizona Iced Tea purchasers. What is striking is that the court only certified a class for declaratory and injunctive relief and denied plaintiffs’ bid to certify a class seeking monetary restitution based on the purchase price. Ries, et al. v…. Read More

Standing 101: Can You Be Injured by a Product You Never Bought?

By Claudia Maria Vetesi on October 26th, 2012 Posted in Misbranding, Retailer Defenses, Standing

Common sense tells you that you can’t be injured by something you never bought. This must be covered in Standing 101, right? Believe it or not, this issue is being debated right now in the California consumer class action context. Here’s what’s going on. Standing as a Threshold Issue Courts are grappling with the issue… Read More