Introduction On September 6, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California breathed fresh life into a case brought by a putative class of retired professional football players (“players”) against the National Football League (“NFL”). See Dent v. NFL, No. 15-15143, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 25302 (9th Cir. Sep. 6, 2018) (“Dent”). The players assert that the NFL directly provided medical care and supplied powerful prescription drugs to players, in violation of federal and…

UNITED STATES – On August 25, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals offered a stern reminder of its distaste for “hollow class-action settlements” that benefit the plaintiffs’ lawyers but not the plaintiffs themselves. See In re Subway Footlong Sandwich Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., No. 16-1652, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 16260 (7th Cir. 2017).  In In re Subway, the Seventh Circuit evaluated a class action settlement that arose from claims (not ultimately supported in the lawsuit) that Subway’s “foot long sub” sandwiches (“footlong subs”) did not always live up to their twelve-inch billing.  In reversing the district court’s approval of the settlement, the Seventh Circuit reinforced the significance of Rule 23(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure — requiring that class action representatives “fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class” — and Rule 23(e)(2) — requiring that class action settlements be “fair, reasonable and adequate.”  The Seventh Circuit also reinforced the uniqueness of the class action context, in which settlement agreements not only can be, but must be, scrutinized by the district court judge with “the high duty of care that the law requires of fiduciaries.”  In so ruling, the Seventh Circuit made clear that district courts facing proposed class action settlements, and the lawyers who prepared them, each have an obligation to ensure that the real people who brought the case are the ones who receive Rule 23’s protection.

UNITED STATES – Given the increasing connectivity to the internet at home and at work, from smartphones and smart televisions to cloud solutions, resulting in vast amounts of personal information being collected, the risk of a data security incident (e.g., “data breach”) is real. In 2015, almost half of all companies reported experiencing a data security incident within the past 12 months. This current environment and a recent decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals,…

UNITED STATES – On July 10, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that could cause state legislatures to think twice before seeking to limit the class action rights of consumer plaintiffs. In Lisk v. Lumber One Wood Preserving LLC, No. 14-11714, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 11891 (11th Cir. July 10, 2015), the Eleventh Circuit held that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 (“Rule 23”) can permit product liability plaintiffs to bring…