Perspectives on Class Actions

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California state legislators have joined the arena in the fight relating to advertised rates in the hotel industry and beyond. If the recent legislation is signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the law will have significant ramifications for hospitality companies nationwide.

On August 18, 2023, Travelers United, a traveler advocacy organization, filed a class-action lawsuit against Hyatt Hotels Corporation and its affiliates, accusing Hyatt of falsely advertising hotel room rates and cheating customers out of millions of dollars through hidden fees.

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has ushered in remarkable advancements across myriad industries from healthcare to entertainment and beyond.

In a putative class action filed on June 28, 2023, in the Northern District of California, and in other similar cases, plaintiffs allege that OpenAI, Microsoft, and their respective affiliates violated the privacy rights of millions of internet users through large-scale data scraping.

A class action complaint filed recently against Foot Locker, Inc. in New York alleges that the footwear retailer is misleading consumers into believing that products are scarce or about to sell out, when that is not in fact the case.

An Illinois consumer recently filed a putative class action complaint against the makers of Fireball Whisky, claiming that the alcohol producer’s mini bottles deceived consumers into buying products labeled as “whisky,” even though the beverage derives its alcohol content from malt.

A split Illinois Supreme Court issued on Friday another long-awaited decision interpreting the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), holding that a separate BIPA violation occurs with each undisclosed and unconsented-to scan or transmission of an individual’s biometric identifier.

In recent months, there has been a surge of class actions brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) against retailers using virtual “try-on” features on their websites.

In a long-awaited development, on February 2, 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court held that all claims under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) are subject to a five-year statute of limitations. 

The Latest Trends and Developments in the Class Actions World

Labor and Employment class actions involving contractors are on the rise in California, especially in its $50-plus billion per annum agricultural industry — 12.5% of all agricultural production nationwide. Employers using seasonal workers are always at risk of wage/hour class action lawsuits.

Last year saw courts, particularly federal courts, continue their close scrutiny of class action settlements to ensure that they are fair and reasonable to class members, and do not unfairly prioritize the interests of class counsel, class representatives, or defendants.

The Court addresses arbitration of class and collective actions in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana and Coinbase, Inv. V. Bielski.”

Employee misclassification claims continue to be the focus of class action litigation in the logistics space. In general, these cases involve allegations by independent contractors (most often owner-operators) that they should be classified as employees, and thereby receive benefits.

The second half of 2022 saw a wave of class action litigation under state wiretapping laws against website operators that use widely deployed online technologies, such as chatboxes and session replay software. 

Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) class action lawsuits were heavily litigated again in 2022, as plaintiffs continued to target companies using biometric technology and their vendors. At the same time, avoiding liability continued to be a challenge for businesses defending BIPA cases

On November 3, 2022, two consumers filed a putative class action complaint against a fast fashion company, claiming that the apparel company’s “Conscious Choice” clothing line deceived consumers into buying products labeled as made from environmentally friendly materials.

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Class action defense counsel should not assume that engagement letters and retainer agreements between representative plaintiffs and class counsel are privileged. Under Rule 23’s “adequacy” requirement, these letters can be both relevant and discoverable.

The latest trends and developments in the class action world.

The absence of insurance regulations to limit or deter unlawful cost-of-insurance (“COI”) increases for universal life insurance (“ULI”) policies has resulted in a flurry of class action activity against carriers.

The latest trends and developments in the class action world.

The latest trends and developments in the class action world.