Class Actions Brief Blog

On Monday, the Supreme Court held in DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia that a California appellate court erred by declining to enforce an arbitration agreement that prohibits arbitration on a class-wide basis. The decision is the latest in a steady line from the Supreme Court chastising lower courts for failing to give effect to arbitration agreements. Perhaps most interesting, the opinion is written by Justice Breyer, who recently authored a dissent arguing that the Supreme Court has expanded the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) too far. In the Imburgia opinion, Justice Breyer acknowledges ...

Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart, courts have been struggling to breathe life into Rule 23(b)(2) when monetary damages are a possibility. Wal-Mart held that back pay constituted the kind of individualized monetary relief that was hardly “incidental” to claims of injunctive relief, upon which (b)(2) classes are essentially founded. In Berry v. LexisNexis Risk and Information Analytics Group Inc., No. 14-2006 (4th Cir. Dec. 4, 2015), the Fourth Circuit grappled with this issue, albeit in the context of a nonmonetary (b)(2) settlement that, by its terms, continued to allow class members to pursue certain claims for monetary relief.

Not every class action court filing in North and South Carolina becomes a full-length post on our blog. Here is a recap of November's filings:

Trapp, et. al v. SunTrust Bank, No. 15-CV-937 (M.D.N.C. Nov. 9, 2015) (class action complaint alleging that SunTrust Bank violated the Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act by providing consumers with notices of an adverse action that fails to identify a specific reason for the adverse action).

Beasley, et. al v. Custom Communications, Inc., No. 15-CV-583 (E.D.N.C. Nov. 8, 2015) (asserting Fair Labor Standards Act collective action and class ...