Wells Fargo Class Action Defense Cases–Martinez v. Wells Fargo: Ninth Circuit Court Affirms Dismissal Of Class Action Holding RESPA and UCL Claims Preempted By National Bank Act

Class Action Alleging Violations of Federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) Properly Dismissed by District Court because Class Action Claims were Preempted by National Bank Act Ninth Circuit Holds

Plaintiffs filed a putative class action against Wells Fargo alleging violations of the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL); specifically, the class action complaint alleged that Wells Fargo violated RESPA’s prohibition against “unearned fees” by “overcharging” its customers, and that “Wells Fargo’s conduct was ‘unfair,’ ‘fraudulent’ and ‘illegal,’ all in violation of the UCL.” Martinez v. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (9th Cir. March 9, 2010) [Slip Opn., at 3763, 3767]. According to the allegations underlying the class action complaint, Wells Fargo charged plaintiffs an $800 underwriting fee in connection with refinancing their home loan. _Id._, at 3767. The class action alleges that the fee violated was excessive “because it was not reasonably related to Wells Fargo’s actual costs of performing the underwriting,” _id._, at 3767-68. Plaintiffs earlier sought to intervene in a New York lawsuit that contained identical claims; but the federal court denied intervention and dismissed the class action, and “the Second Circuit affirmed in part and remanded, holding that RESPA Section 8(b) clearly and unambiguously does not apply to excessive fees charged by a lender.” _Id._, at 3768. The essence of the present class action complaint was that “Wells Fargo marked up certain charges and overcharged for services in connection with mortgage loans, in violation of federal and state law.” _Id._ Defense attorneys moved to dismiss the class action, and the district court granted the motion on the grounds that RESPA does not apply to “overcharge” claims and that the class action’s UCL claims were preempted by the National Bank Act and “failed to identify an underlying illegal predicate act.” _Id._, at 3768-69. Plaintiffs appealed, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed.

The Ninth Circuit first held that the district court properly dismissed the class action’s RESPA claim because the statute does not apply to overcharge claims: “The language of Section 8(b) prohibits only the practice of giving or accepting money where no service whatsoever is performed in exchange for that money: ‘No person shall give and no person shall accept . . . any charge made or received . . . other than for services actually performed.’ 12 U.S.C. § 2607(b) (emphasis added). By negative implication, Section 8(b) cannot be read to prohibit charging fees, excessive or otherwise, when those fees are for services that were actually performed.” Martinez, at 3770 (footnote omitted). This was a matter of first impression in the Ninth Circuit, but the Court followed the holdings of the Second, Third and Eleventh Circuits in reaching this conclusion. Id., at 3771-72 (citing Kruse v. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc., 383 F.3d 49 (2d Cir. 2004); Santiago v. GMAC Mortgage Group, Inc., 417 F.3d 384 (3d Cir. 2005); Friedman v. Mkt. St. Mortgage, 520 F.3d 1289 (11th Cir. 2008)).

Class Action Court Decisions RESPA/TILA Class Actions Uncategorized

Labor Law Class Action Filings Again Below Normal But Labor Law Class Actions Retain Top Spot Of New Class Action Lawsuits Filed In California State And Federal Courts

As a resource to California class action defense attorneys, we provide weekly, unofficial summaries of the legal categories for new class action lawsuits filed in California state and federal courts in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, Oakland/Alameda and Orange County areas. We include only those categories that include 10% or more of the class action filings during the relevant timeframe. This report covers the time period from April 9 – 15, 2010, during which time 53 new class actions were filed in these California state and federal courts.

Class Actions In The News Uncategorized

New Employment-Related Class Action Filings Remain Below Normal But Labor Law Class Actions Maintain Grip On Top Spot Of New Class Action Lawsuits Filed In California State And Federal Courts

To assist class action defense attorneys anticipate the types of cases against which they may have to defend in California courts, we provide weekly, unofficial summaries of the legal categories for new class action lawsuits filed in California state and federal courts in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, Oakland/Alameda and Orange County areas. We include only those categories that include 10% or more of the class action filings during the relevant timeframe.

Class Actions In The News Uncategorized

Class Action Defense Cases–Shady Grove v. Allstate: Divided Supreme Court Reverses Dismissal Of Class Action Holding New York Law Barring Class Actions Seeking Penalties Falls To Rule 23

District Court Erred in Dismissing Class Action Based on New York law Barring Class Actions that Seek Penalties or Statutory Damages because the Statute is Incompatible with Rule 23’s Mandate Allowing Class Action Certification if Requirements are Met Supreme Court Holds

Plaintiff, a medical care provider, filed a class action in New York federal court against Allstate Insurance; the class action complaint alleged that plaintiff provided medical care to an Allstate insured and accepted an assignment of the insured’s rights to benefits of her Allstate policy, and that Allstate paid benefits under the policy “but not on time, and it refused to pay the statutory interest that accrued on the overdue benefits (at two percent per month).” Shady Grove Orthopedic Associates, P.A. v. Allstate Ins. Co., ___ U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct.1431, 2010 WL 1222272, *3 (March 31, 2010). (The class action asserted federal court jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), _id._ n.3.) According to the allegations underlying the class action complaint, “Allstate routinely refuses to pay interest on overdue benefits” so plaintiff “sought relief on behalf of itself and a class of all others to whom Allstate owes interest.” _Id._ Defense attorneys moved to dismiss the class action for lack of jurisdiction on the grounds that New York law, § 901(b), prohibits class actions which seek only to recover “penalties” as damages. _Id._ Defense attorneys moved to dismiss the class action complaint, _id._ The district court granted the motion, concluding that statutory interest constituted a “penalty” under § 901(b), and dismissed the class action. _See_ 466 F.Supp.2d 467 (2006). On appeal, the Second Circuit held that no conflict existed between § 901(b) and Rule 23 because they address different issues; accordingly, the Circuit Court affirmed the dismissal of the class action. _See_ 549 F.3d 137 (2008). The Supreme Court granted certiorari and, in a sharply divided decision, reversed.

The Supreme Court explained, “New York law prohibits class actions in suits seeking penalties or statutory minimum damages.” Shady Grove, at *3 and n.1 (citing N.Y. Civ. Prac. Law Ann. § 901(b) (West 2006) [“Unless a statute creating or imposing a penalty, or a minimum measure of recovery specifically authorizes the recovery thereof in a class action, an action to recover a penalty, or minimum measure of recovery created or imposed by statute may not be maintained as a class action.”]). The issue before the Court was “whether this precludes a federal district court sitting in diversity from entertaining a class action under [Rule 23].” Id. The High Court explained the framework for its analysis as follows: “We must first determine whether Rule 23 answers the question in dispute…. If it does, it governs-New York’s law notwithstanding-unless it exceeds statutory authorization or Congress’s rulemaking power…. We do not wade into Erie‘s murky waters unless the federal rule is inapplicable or invalid….” Id., at *4 (citations omitted).

Certification of Class Actions Class Action Court Decisions Uncategorized

Pendulum Swings As Labor Law Class Action Filings Again Drop Significantly But Still Top List Of New Class Action Lawsuits Filed In California State And Federal Courts

As a resource to California class action defense attorneys, we provide weekly, unofficial summaries of the legal categories for new class action lawsuits filed in California state and federal courts in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, Oakland/Alameda and Orange County areas. We include only those categories that include 10% or more of the class action filings during the relevant timeframe. This report covers the time period from March 26 – April 1, 2010, during which time 45 new class actions were filed in these California state and federal courts.

Class Actions In The News Uncategorized

Class Action Defense Cases–Jones v. DirecTV: Georgia Federal Court Denies Motion To Compel Arbitration Holding Class Action Waiver In Arbitration Clause Rendered It Unconscionable

Class Action Challenging Monthly Fees Imposed by Satellite TV Provider not Subject to Arbitration on Individual Basis because Class Action Waiver in Arbitration Provision was Unenforceable Georgia Federal Court Holds Plaintiff filed a putative class action in a Georgia federal court against his satellite television provider, DirecTV, alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment, and seeking an accounting as well as injunctive and declaratory; specifically, the class action complaint alleged that DirecTV “collect[ed] excessive ‘tax’ charges and improperly billed lease fees” in connection with the satellite television service, and sought to prohibit it from collecting or billing customers “for taxes in excess of those actually due and owing.

Arbitration Class Action Court Decisions Uncategorized

Surge In Class Action Filings As Labor Law Class Actions Regain Top Spot Among New Class Action Lawsuits Filed In California State And Federal Courts

To assist class action defense attorneys anticipate the types of cases against which they will have to defend in California, we provide weekly, unofficial summaries of the legal categories for new class action lawsuits filed in California state and federal courts in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, Oakland/Alameda and Orange County areas. We include only those categories that include 10% or more of the class action filings during the relevant timeframe.

Class Actions In The News Uncategorized

Second Weekly Drop In New Labor Law Class Action Filings Allow UCL Class Actions To Claim Top Spot Among New Class Action Lawsuits Filed In California State And Federal Courts

As a resource for California class action defense attorneys, we provide weekly, unofficial summaries of the legal categories for new class action lawsuits filed in California state and federal courts in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, Oakland/Alameda and Orange County areas. We include only those categories that include 10% or more of the class action filings during the relevant timeframe. This report covers the time period from March 12 – 18, 2010, during which time 48 new class actions were filed in these California state and federal courts.

Class Actions In The News Uncategorized

Class Action Defense Cases–Gintis v. Bouchard Transportation: First Circuit Reverses Denial Of Class Action Treatment Holding Defense Arguments Suggest Common Issues May Predominate

District Court Denial of Class Action Certification on Grounds that Individuals Issues will Predominate over Common Issues Contradicted by Defense Arguments on Appeal that it will Raise Common Challenges in Individual Lawsuits First Circuit Holds

Plaintiffs filed a class action against Bouchard Transportation arising out of an oil spill in Buzzards Bay in southeastern Massachusetts; the class action complaint alleged Massachusetts state law claims for “strict liability for damage to real property on the owner of a vessel from which oil has spilled” and for “negligent discharge of petroleum,” and a common law claim for nuisance. Gintis v. Bouchard Transp. Co., ___ F.3d ___ (1st Cir. February 23, 2010) [Slip Opn., at 2, 3]. According to the allegations underlying the class action complaint, in 2003 a fuel barge owned and operated by defendant strayed off course in Buzzards Bay and struck a reef, spilling 98,000 barrels of oil and contaminating 90 miles of the shore. _Id._, at 2. Defendants engaged in government-supervised cleanup operations that were completed in October 2006, _id._, at 2-3, Plaintiffs owned “residential waterfront property on the bay,” _id._, at 2. Plaintiffs moved the district court to certify the litigation as a class action; the district court denied class action treatment concluding that individual issues would predominate. _Id._, at 3-4. Specifically, the district court observed that defendant “has not conceded liability to any individual plaintiffs, that on the public nuisance claim plaintiffs must show both unreasonable interference and special injury to each claimant, and that plaintiffs must establish compensatory damages specific to each piece of property.” _Id._, at 4. The First Circuit reversed.

The Circuit Court noted that the district court’s class action certification determination had “relied heavily on the denial of class certification in Church v. General Electric Co., 138 F. Supp. 2d 169 (D. Mass. 2001), which had stressed that recovery for contamination of land downstream from a point of toxic discharge into a river would require parcel-by-parcel determinations as to injury and damages.” Gintis, at 4. The First Circuit concluded, however, that Church “does not support a general rule that pollution torts charged against a single defendant escape class treatment on the ground that the requirements to show injury, cause and compensatory amount must be sustainable as to specific plaintiffs.” Id., at 5. On the contrary, “If that were the law, the point of the Rule 23(b)(3) provision for class treatment would be blunted beyond utility, as every plaintiff must show specific entitlement to recovery, and still Rule 23 has to be read to authorize class actions in some set of cases where seriatim litigation would promise such modest recoveries as to be economically impracticable.” Id. (citation omitted). The Circuit Court also observed that several cases “in the same genre go the other way.” Id., at 5-6 (citations omitted).

Certification of Class Actions Class Action Court Decisions Uncategorized

Sprint Class Action Defense Cases–Hesse v. Sprint: Ninth Circuit Court Reverses Summary Judgment Dismissing Class Action Holding That Prior Nationwide Class Action Settlement Did Not Bar Present Class Action Complaint

Broad Release Language in Prior Nationwide Class Action Settlement did not Preclude Instant Class Action Lawsuits because Class Representative in Nationwide Class Action was not Adequate Representative of Instant Class and because Class Actions were not Premised on “Identical Factual Predicate” Ninth Circuit Holds

Plaintiffs filed separate putative class action lawsuits in Washington state court against Sprint alleging violations of the state’s Business & Occupation Tax (“B&O tax”) and Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”), as well as breach of contract and unjust enrichment; specifically, the class action complaints alleged that Sprint unlawfully passed the B&O tax on to consumers. Hesse v. Sprint Spectrum LP, 598 F.3d 581 (9th Cir. 2010) [Slip Opn., at 3845, 3849-50]. According to the allegations underlying the class action complaints, Sprint included “a separate line item labeled ‘Washington State B&O Tax Surcharge’” on customer invoices, id., at 3850; however, “Washington law specifies that the B&O tax must be collected from a business as part of its ‘operating overhead’ rather than imposed as a separate ‘tax[] upon purchasers or customers,” id., at 3849-50 (citation omitted). Defense attorneys removed the class actions to federal court, and the moved to dismiss the class action complaints. Id., at 3850. The district court granted the motion with respect to all class action claims “predicated on the B&O Tax Statute,” finding that the claims were preempted by the Federal Communications Act; however, the court otherwise denied the motion to dismiss. Id. Eventually, the class action complaints were consolidated, and the district court certified the litigation as a class action. Id. Sprint answered the class action complaint and then moved for summary judgment on the grounds that the claims were “barred by a [nationwide class action] settlement between Sprint and its customers approved by a Kansas state court in 2006” known as the Benny Settlement. Id. The district court granted the motion, concluding that the prior class action settlement barred the present lawsuit. Id., at 3849. The Ninth Circuit reversed.

The Circuit Court explained that the Benny Settlement resolved several class actions that had been filed “in various state courts and then dismissed and refilled in Kansas state court in 2005 for the purposes of settlement.” Hesse, at 3850. One of those class actions challenged Sprint’s practice of imposing surcharges to “recoup federal regulatory fees” – defined in the class action settlement agreement “to include only specified fees imposed to recover the cost of compliance with federally mandated programs” – in violation of consumer protection laws, and alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Id., at 3850-51. Plaintiffs in the present class action did not dispute that they were members of the class covered by the Benny Settlement and that they did not opt out of that class, id., at 3851. The question was whether the instant class action claims were barred by the broad release language of the Benny Settlement.

Class Action Court Decisions Uncategorized