Two named plaintiffs brought a putative class action against AT&T Mobility Services, alleging pregnancy-related discrimination in their employment. The district court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification; the 11th Circuit denied their petition for review under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(f); and the two named plaintiffs settled with AT&T Mobility and voluntarily dismissed their…
Tag: Class certification
Class Certification in Consumer-Fraud Case Depends on What Evidence—if Any—Is Required to Establish Reliance Under State Law
The Eleventh Circuit reversed and remanded class certification of most claims brought by a group of consumers who alleged their Ford Mustang Shelby GT350s were not “track ready” as advertised. The court’s decision in Tershakovec v. Ford Motor Company, No. 22-10575, — F.4th —, 2023 WL 4377585 (11th Cir. July 7, 2023), focused on the…
Single Unwanted Text Enough For TCPA Standing
In an unusual showing of unanimity, the full Eleventh Circuit held that a single unwanted text is enough to confer Article III standing to assert a claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Drazen v. Pinto, 2023 WL 4699939 (July 24, 2023). The original panel opinion, vacated by the grant of rehearing en banc, arose…
Full Court to Rehear Uninjured Class Member TCPA Standing Case
The en banc Eleventh Circuit announced on March 13 that it would rehear Drazen v. Pinto and vacated the panel opinion. As discussed in our post on the panel decision, the case addresses whether class members who lack Article III standing with respect to the claims asserted by the class are nonetheless permitted to receive…
Settlement Class Defined to Include Uninjured Members Cannot Be Approved
An appeal concerning the meaning of coupon settlements under the Class Action Fairness Act instead produced an important opinion, Drazen v. Pinto, 2022 LEXIS 20766 (11th Cir. July 27, 2022), addressing the certification of classes that are defined to include members who have not been injured. Some background may be helpful in understanding the ruling….
Bankruptcy Preemption/Preclusion Defense Does Not Preclude Class Certification in FDCPA/FCCPA Case
In an opinion vacating a district court order denying class certification, the Eleventh Circuit held that whether the Bankruptcy Code precludes and/or preempts the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1962 et seq., and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (“FCCPA”), Fla. Stat. § 559.55 et seq., raised issues common to all…
Rule 23(f) Petitions to Eleventh Circuit
One question that Eleventh Circuit litigants often ask is how likely the court is to grant a Rule 23(f) petition for interlocutory review of a class certification decision. Litigants who have been on the wrong end of a class certification decision ask this question with particular urgency because an interlocutory appeal—before the trial on the…
Survey of 2017 Eleventh Circuit Decisions Published
The Mercer Law Review recently published its annual survey of noteworthy Eleventh Circuit decisions. The Class Actions article, authored by our own Tom Byrne and Stacey Mohr, analyzes the court’s 2017 decisions on CAFA jurisdiction, the impact of arbitration agreements on class actions, the preclusive effect of prior actions, class action settlements, and class certification disputes….
Class Certification of Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act Claim Affirmed
On May 17, the Eleventh Circuit decided Carriuolo v. General Motors Co., 2016 WL 2870025 (11th Cir. May 17, 2016), affirming the district court’s partial grant of a motion for class certification. The plaintiffs’ motion in the district court involved four classes relating to four claims, but the district court denied certification of three and only granted…