The Litigation Counsellor®

On March 8, 2021, Northern District of California Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley denied cryopreservation tank manufacturer Chart Industries’ (“Chart”) motion for summary judgment, thus keeping alive proposed class claims over the March 2018 malfunction of a Chart cryopreservation tank at the Pacific Fertility Center (“PFC”).

The suit was originally filed on March 13, 2018, by named plaintiff S.M. In the complaint, the plaintiff describes how she, and many others, relied on PFC and its Chart cryopreservation tanks to maintain and preserve her frozen eggs indefinitely. However, on March 11, 2018, the plaintiff received an email informing her that earlier that week, the cryopreservation tank containing her frozen eggs had lost liquid nitrogen for a brief period of time which “may have resulted” in the loss of her eggs.

On March 7, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the District of Colorado against United Airlines over U.A. Flight 328, which made headlines on February 20, 2021, when it experienced what has been described as spectacular engine failure in one of the plane’s two engines.

In the complaint, named plaintiff Chad Schnell describes how approximately four minutes after takeoff, as the Boeing 777-200 aircraft reached an altitude of 12,000 feet, passengers heard loud noises and began to experience violent shaking of the plane. Shortly after the extreme turbulence began, passengers - including the plaintiff - witnessed from the plane’s windows missing pieces from the right engine and a fire that ignited within the engine.

On February 25, 2021, plaintiffs in the TikTok multidistrict litigation (“MDL”) submitted a motion to Judge John Z. Lee of the Northern District of Illinois, requesting preliminary approval of a $92 million settlement in the TikTok litigations. The settlement, if approved, will bring an end to an MDL comprised of 21 putative class actions that similarly allege that defendants TikTok Inc. (“TikTok”) and its parent company Byte Dance Technology Inc., mishandled issues of plaintiffs’ privacy.

As the legal system continues to adapt to the constant change brought about by the global pandemic, many law firms are looking ahead to plan for the future. We explore how law firms have changed and what modifications are here to stay in our new series, Post-Pandemic Law Firm Landscape. Hear firsthand from plaintiffs firms on how they've navigated the current state of the legal system and their outlook moving forward.

We recently spoke to Kristy Arevalo, Esq. of McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP to discuss how her firm is looking ahead as the country works toward reopening. 

On February 22, 2021, class claims were filed in Texas Federal Court in the District Court of Harris County against Griddy Energy LLC (“Griddy”) by a group of Griddy customers who allege that they were charged excessive electricity prices due to Winter Storm Uri in February 2021.

On February 23, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Eastern District of California Fresno Division, against retail giant Walmart Inc. alleging that the defendant implemented an illegal policy requiring its non-exempt workers to undergo COVID-19 screenings prior to each shift without pay.

The battle against insurance carriers over a lack of business interruption coverage in the wake of the on-going pandemic continues with a group made up primarily of Washington State dentists and orthodontists, in addition to other businesses like restaurants, filing a motion for Western District of Washington Judge Barbara J. Rothstein to certify questions of common state law to the Washington State Supreme Court.

The controversy surrounding the meteoric rise and fall of the GameStop stock continues, as yet another class action complaint involving the incident was filed on February 16, 2021, in Massachusetts federal court. In the suit, plaintiff Christian Iovin alleges that defendant Keith Patrick Gill, a professional securities broker, purposefully incited a market frenzy by advocating for amateur market traders to enact revenge on big hedge fund companies by artificially inflating the price of shares of GameStop.

On February 5, 2021, baby food giant Gerber Products Co. (“Gerber”) was served with class claims in federal court in the District of New Jersey alleging that unbeknownst to consumers, and contrary to the representations made by Gerber, its baby food products contain heavy metals, including arsenic and cadmium.

On February 3, 2021, restaurant and arcade chain Dave & Buster’s filed suit against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (“the Governor”) in federal court in the Northern District of New York alleging that Cuomo’s decision to close down all arcades statewide, while allowing comparable businesses to remain open, is arbitrary and unconstitutional.

On January 22, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York, against textbook giant McGraw Hill LLC, by a group of McGraw Hill authors who allege that the company breached its contract with contributing authors by reducing royalties when it sells their textbooks in an electronic format.

On January 28, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York against popular brokerage firm app, Robinhood, over the company’s abrupt removal of GameStop and other contentious stocks. This was in response to a trading war of attrition raging between the independent retail investors that convene on the sub-Reddit r/WallStreetBets and short-selling hedge funds.

On January 21, 2021, class claims were filed in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois against Easy Healthcare Corporation, the developer of popular fertility app Premom, alleging that the defendant company had been sharing users’ personal information and location data with Chinese companies.

Thinking about Leaving Your Firm?

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way many attorneys practice law. Across the country, courthouses are undertaking virtual trials in an effort to keep the judicial system moving while adhering to social distancing measures. Along with virtual hearings and proceedings has come serious consideration of moving toward an “at home” practice.  

With the option of going remote becoming more and more plausible, thoughts of breaking away from your current firm—with or without additional attorneys and support staff—may come into play. Or perhaps your firm is the regional office of a national firm and you are entertaining the concept of an independent practice. At a minimum, given the financial and legal impact on law firms due to our collective sequestration, the future of your current path may be subject to change.