Class Action Litigation Report® Index-Summary

BANKING

– Aiding and abetting liability for securities fraud, private civil actions

See LEGISLATION, FEDERAL, S 1551

– Arbitration

– – Bank of America drops arbitration requirements for consumer loan disputes, 783
– – Chevy Chase Bank's motion to compel arbitration granted, class action waiver clause deemed enforceable in consumer suit (8th Cir.), 956

– Cash sweep programs of investment banks, suit dismissed (S.D.N.Y.), 744
– Credit cards

See CREDIT CARDS

– Credit union, deaf customers file claim for refusal to accept relay calls (Cal. Super. Ct.), 466
– Enron shareholder suit against 3 investment banks dismissed (S.D. Tex.), 284
– ERISA stock drop claims

– – Colonial Bank employee files suit against holding company (M.D. Ala.), 805
– – Fifth Third Bancorp, inclusion of stock during merger was not breach, claim dismissed (S.D. Ohio), 238
– – Huntington Bancshares, retention of stock during subprime crisis did not breach duty (S.D. Ohio), 192
– – SunTrust employees file claims re losses over “Alt A” Mortgages (N.D. Ga.), 516; cases consolidated, 822

– Financial crisis fuels 2008 surge in filing of class actions, studies show, 37; panelists discuss, 38
– 401(k) plans

– – Fifth Third Bancorp inclusion of company stock during merger was not breach, employee claim dismissed (S.D. Ohio), 238
– – Huntington Bancshares, retention of stock during subprime crisis did not breach duty (S.D. Ohio), 192
– – Regions Bank and Morgan Keegan, 401(k) participants file suit alleging breach of fiduciary duties (M.D. Ala.), 761
– – Wells Fargo, former employee who cashed out of plan lacks standing (D. Minn.), 282

– Loans

See LOANS

– Madoff fraud

See MADOFF FRAUD

– Mortgages

See MORTGAGES

– Overdrafts

– – Debit card overdrafts, settlement over increased fees approved (Cal. Super. Ct.), 191
– – Maximization of penalties, fluid recovery method for assessing damages rejected, one class decertified (N.D. Cal.), 524
– – Restaurant business sues banks for allegedly excessive overdraft fees (S.D. Tex.), 941
– – Social Security, oral arguments on use of government benefits to satisfy overdraft fees (Cal.), 335

– Privacy

– – Bank of America sued for providing customer data to marketers, challenge to proposed settlement rejected (Cal. Ct. App.), 641
– – Royal Bank of Scotland, payment processing data hacked, consumers amend complaint (N.D. Ga.), 161

– Securities fraud

– – Auction rate securities, purchasers' suit against Raymond James Financial and subsidiaries dismissed (S.D.N.Y.), 875
– – Bonds issued by I Bank, suit filed on behalf of holders of derivative interests (E.D. Cal.), 668
– – Merger of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, class representatives named in securities and derivative actions (S.D.N.Y.), 678; public pension funds sue Bank of America for alleged fraudulent concealment of adverse facts from investors (S.D.N.Y.), 896
– – Pleading hurdles for plaintiffs, Analysis & Perspective, 249
– – RSL investors granted certification, defendants failed to rebut fraud on the market presumption (S.D.N.Y.), 767
– – SLUSA preempts trust beneficiaries' class action against trust administrators, complaint dismissed (N.D. Cal.), 868

– Settlement, opt-out procedure acceptable even though plaintiffs failing to opt out incur financial obligation to defendants (N.D. Ill.), 867
– Stock lending program, pension funds file claims for losses (D. Mass.), 369
– Study, financial services most frequently sued group, 397
– Trusts, class certified for successor trustee claims (E.D. Tex.), 373

BANKRUPTCY

– Gas station pipe manufacturer, remand of removed case reviewable if district court declines supplemental jurisdiction (5th Cir.), 141
– Health club, bankruptcy affects decision to certify, employee claims too unique for certification (S.D.N.Y.), 372
– Retirement plans

– – Owens Corning, offering company stock as option in period leading up to bankruptcy, fiduciary breach claims time-barred (N.D. Ohio), 29
– – Smurfit-Stone, claims allege fiduciary duty breach for offering stock as company moved towards bankruptcy (N.D. Ill.), 514

BENEFITS

– Employee

See EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

– Medicare and Medicaid

See MEDICARE AND MEDICAID

BEVERAGES

– Alcoholic beverages, Anheuser-Busch sued for using risky qualified default investment alternative after conversion of common stock held in pension plan (M.D. Fla.), 620
– China's toxic milk scandal, parents bring claims against dairies (Supreme People's Court), 57; dairies offer settlement, 77
– Drinking water

– – Lead, parent sues public utility for “cover-up” (D.C. Super. Ct.), 160
– – Teflon-related chemical contamination of water, certification denied for medical monitoring claims (D.N.J.), 15
– – Teflon-related chemical contamination of water, residents' nuisance claims against Du Pont plant certified (D.N.J.), 945
– – Vinyl chloride claims, certification of class survives challenge by competing class (La. Ct. App.), 470

– Jones Soda, securities fraud suit dismissed (W.D. Wash.), 644
– Snapple “all natural” drinks, consumer challenge to labeling not preempted, suit reinstated (3d Cir.), 777
– VitaminWater drink, Coca-Cola alleged to misrepresent nutritional value (N.D. Cal.), 58

BONDS

See SECURITIES

BRAZIL

– Airbus aircraft manufacturers sued re crash, case dismissed based on forum non conveniens (S.D. Fla.), 877
– Toxic waste, Brazilians file claims against chemical, pharmaceutical, and oil companies (S.D. Ind.), 419
– Visa fraud, Brazilian pipefitters allege guestworker exploitation (S.D. Miss.), 464

BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION

– Antitrust

– – Fiberglass insulation, horizontal price fixing claims, independent contractors class certified (N.D. Ga.), 170
– – Germany, bundled cartel claims permissible, 487

– Asbestos

See ASBESTOS

– Installation workers, wage and hour claims settled (C.D. Cal.), 240
– Product liability

– – Air conditioners, warranty not extended based on statements by manufacturer (10th Cir.), 600
– – Decking material with mold growth, settlement class certified (W.D. Wash.), 131
– – Drywall with sulfur, claims against Chinese maker by homeowners (M.D. Fla.), builders (Fla. Cir. Ct.), 108; claims consolidated in multidistrict action (J.P.M.L.), 592
– – Windows, shifting theories and absence of factual support lead to dismissal of claims (8th Cir.), 391

– Toxic torts

– – Formaldehyde exposure, FEMA trailer residents denied class certification (E.D. La.), 12; first bellwether trial scheduled, 379; state tort claims preempted by federal housing laws and regulations, 548
– – Maganese fumes from welding rods, claims against makers from exposure (E.D. Tex.), 6