The Litigation Counsellor®

On May 17, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Central District of California against actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s luxe lifestyle and wellness brand, GOOP Inc., alleging that the company’s kitschy “This Smells Like My Vagina” candle may explode during normal use.

On May 7, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida against superstore Costco Wholesale Corporation (“Costco”), alleging that the retail giant intentionally misled consumers as to the details of its Interstate Battery Warranty.

On May 2, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York against Nestlé Waters North America, Inc. (“Nestlé”) alleging that the company actively misled consumers as to the true ingredients of its Poland Spring brand sparkling water.

On April 30, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Central District of California by a group of investors against Volkswagen AG, Volkswagen Group of America Inc. (“VWoA”) and two of the company’s executives, CEO Scott Keogh and Volkswagen head of communications, Mark Gillies, concerning the automaker’s poorly planned April Fools prank in which it announced its intention to change its name to Voltswagen.

On April 16, 2021, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“JPML”) issued a transfer order centralizing all litigations alleging that All-Clad’s multi-ply stainless-steel cookware was deceptively marketed to consumers as dishwasher safe, be transferred to the Western District of Pennsylvania under federal court Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan.

On April 27, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Northern District of California against tech giant Google LLC (“Google”) alleging that the COVID-19 contact tracing technology the company co-created with Apple has exposed users’ private personal and medical information. The suit claims that the sensitive data was retrievable by numerous third parties, and also by other contact tracing app users who were within a certain proximity of a fellow user.

Returning to the office, employee vaccinations, flextime—these are all considerations facing contingency-fee firms as the U.S. looks toward a gradual return to some semblance of pre-pandemic life. We recently spoke to Matthew Haynie, Esq. of Forester Haynie about his views on how the pandemic has impacted his firm operations and what he sees the future looking like.

CFS: As we pass the one-year mark of COVID-19 regulations and closures impacting the court system, how has your firm changed in the last 12 months?

On April 19, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois against popular convenience baked goods company, Sara Lee Frozen Bakery (“Sara Lee”), alleging that the company engaged in deceptive, unfair and false merchandising practices regarding its popular All Butter Pound Cake (the “product”).

On April 15, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Eastern District of California against Victoria’s Secret Stores LLC (“Victoria’s Secret”) and its parent company, L Brands Inc., by a group of employees who alleged that they were denied payment for all hours worked because of company compelled temperature screenings while off the clock.

On April 11, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York against grocery store chain Whole Foods Market Group Inc. (“Whole Foods”) alleging that it engages in false, deceptive and misleading advertising in relation to its Lemon Raspberry Italian Sparkling Mineral Water (“the Product”), which depicts pictures of fresh lemons and raspberries on the label.

On April 6, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois against The Kraft Heinz Company (“Kraft”) over claims that its popular Kraft Mac & Cheese products (“the Products) have improper and misleading packaging, also displayed in its marketing.

On March 31, 2021, class claims were filed in the Circuit Court for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit for Miami-Dade County against Event Entertainment Group Inc. over the company’s decision to withhold ticketholder refunds from the cancelled 2020 Ultra Music Festival.

On April 1, 2021, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued a transfer order centralizing all suits in the Robinhood January 2021 Short Squeeze litigation in the Southern District of Florida under Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga. According to the transfer order, the newly consolidated actions share factual questions arising from trading restrictions imposed by Robinhood and other brokers in late January 2021 in response to a dramatic rise in trading and share prices for a group of so-called “meme stocks.” Meme stocks include GameStop Corp, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, American Airlines Group Inc., Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., BlackBerry Ltd., Express, Inc., Koss Corporation, Naked Brand Group Ltd., Nokia Corp, Sundial Growers Inc., Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. and Trivago N.V.

On March 25, 2021, class claims were filed in California federal court in the Northern District of California San Jose Division, against insurance giant GEICO General Insurance Company (“GEICO”) alleging that GEICO unfairly profited from the COVID-19 pandemic.