Class Actions Brief Blog

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

Harding v. The Pantry, Inc., No. 2:14-cv-02096 (May 30, 2014) (alleging violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act for wrongly classifying store managers as exempt and failing to pay overtime wages).  The case was originally filed in the Charleston County Court of Common Pleas on April 25, 2014.

Fitzhenry v. Lowe’s Cos., No. 2:14-cv-02081 (May 29, 2014) (alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by Lowe’s and GE Capital Retail Bank).  A motion to certify the class has also been filed.

Fitzhenry v. Fifth Third Bank, No. 2:14-cv-02076 (May 28, 2014) (alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act after the 2013 settlement of a related action in Illinois, Hanley v. Fifth Third Bank, No. 1:12-cv-01612 (Mar. 6, 2012)). A motion to certify the class has also been filed.

Whitaker v. Goodman Global, Inc., No. 5:14-cv-00302 (E.D.N.C. May 28, 2014) (removal from Harnett County of North Carolina statewide class action alleging defective evaporator coils in Goodman and Amana air conditioning units, original complaint filed April 22, 2014).

Higgins v. PowerSecure Int’l, Inc., No. 3:14-cv-00271 (W.D.N.C. May 27, 2014) (another federal securities class action alleging fraud after PowerSecure’s share price dropped). The plaintiff filed a motion to transfer to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina the next day. If the motion is granted, this case will join a substantially similar case, Ash v. PowerSecure Int’l, Inc., No. 4:14-cv-00092 (E.D.N.C. May 22, 2014) (more information below), in that court.

Ash et al. v. Power Secure International, Inc., No. 4:14-cv-00092 (E.D.N.C. May 22, 2014) (federal securities class action alleging securities fraud following drop in share price alleged to be 62%) (Dever, J.).

Wegner v. Pella Corp., No. 2:14-cv-01993 (D.S.C. May 20, 2014 ) (Iowa action, originally filed March 17, 2014, brought pursuant to CAFA alleging defective windows transferred to Multidistrict Litigation No. 2514 assigned to Judge Norton). This case joins Knight v. Pella Corp., No. 2:14-cv-01540 (D.S.C. Apr. 19, 2014) (more information below) and ten other member cases as part of the MDL.

Nakatsukasa v. Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Wake County, May 12, 2014) (Action brought by public shareholders of Furiex Pharmaceuticals to enjoin acquisition of Furiex by Forest Laboratories, Inc. Complaint challenges “no solicitation” “fiduciary out” provisions, as well as break-up fee of $41 million)

Simmer v. Pokertek, et al., No. 14-cvs-8300 (Meck. County, May 9, 2014) —  A shareholder of PokerTek, Inc. filed a putative class action challenging a proposed merger with Multimedia Games Holding Company, Inc. The complaint alleges that the purchase will be “at an unfairly low price” and challenges the break-up fee and “no shop” provision.

Johnson v. Bennett Law, No. 2:14-cv-01936 (D.S.C. May 14, 2014) (transferring putative nationwide class action alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act from the Southern District of California to the District of South Carolina). In her amended complaint, Plaintiff Angela Johnson, a South Carolina resident, alleges that she received unsolicited calls to her South Carolina cell phone after her husband, also a South Carolina resident, provided his South Carolina cell phone number in connection with work performed on his South Carolina home. None of the defendants reside in the Southern District of California, and the Court found unpersuasive Plaintiff’s argument that other putative class members may be located in or have received unsolicited calls in the Southern District of California, because “determination of proper venue is generally based on the named plaintiff, not unnamed or absent putative class members.” The lawsuit was filed on December 21, 2012.

Johnson v. Amazon.com DEDC, LLC, No. 3:14-cv-01797 (D.S.C. May 2, 2014) (warehouse workers at Amazon’s South Carolina fulfillment centers in West Columbia and Spartanburg allege unpaid overtime in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act).

Schussel v. Lincoln Wood Products, Inc., No. 2:14-cv-01788 (D.S.C. May 2, 2014) (defendant removed and answered class action complaint originally filed March 11 in Charleston County alleging negligence and breach of warranty for defective residential window frames).

You can view a current list of recent filings here.