The Litigation Counsellor®

On October 3, 2017, fifteen named residents of Crosby, Texas filed a class action lawsuit in Houston federal court against chemical plant, Arkema Inc., alleging that the plant spread toxic chemicals into the surrounding soil and water after the location flooded, partially exploded and caught fire in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. 

On September 29, 2017, plaintiffs in the AT&T training managers overtime class action submitted a $2.75 million settlement to California federal judge Vince Chhabria for preliminary approval.

The suit was originally filed in August 2015 by named plaintiffs, Wendall Walton and Michael Mantonya. Plaintiffs alleged that AT&T had been misclassifying company training managers as independent contractors, therefore denying them access to overtime pay. 

On September 15, 2017, a $19.1 million settlement was reached between a putative class of 28,800 TGI Fridays tipped employees and the restaurant chain. The nationwide lawsuit was originally filed on April 17, 2014 by more than a dozen named plaintiffs, alleging that the casual dining restaurant chain and its former owner, hospitality firm Carlson Restaurants Inc., violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, along with labor laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey and New York. Specifically, the plaintiffs argued that TGI Fridays improperly took a tip credit from the paychecks of tipped employees who were already being paid below minimum wage. In addition to the tip credit, the plaintiffs claimed that the chain failed to pay tipped employees overtime, refund uniform related expenses, as well as misappropriating tips and unlawfully docking employee pay for customer walkouts.

On Monday September 18, 2017, class claims were filed in Miami-Dade County Court against Florida Power & Light Co. (“FPL”) by a group of Florida residents who have been without power since the destruction caused by Hurricane Irma. The plaintiffs claim that prior to the hurricane, Florida residents paid a “storm charge fee” in exchange for the defendant’s promise to prune trees near power lines and move some power lines underground as an improvement to the power grid.

On September 7, 2017, U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle Sr. granted final approval to a $4.5 million settlement that put an end to class claims between supplement manufacturer, Direct Digital LLC, and consumers who accused the company of falsely marketing its product, Instaflex Joint Support Supplement, as being scientifically beneficial for joint support.

On September 7, 2017, credit-reporting company Equifax Inc. announced that its databases had experienced one of the largest data breaches in U.S. history. Shortly after the breach was made public, a proposed class action suit was filed in Oregon federal court by named plaintiffs Mary McHill and Brook Reinhard.

A $4.8 million settlement has been reached in Alabama federal court in the unsolicited advertisement class action between pharmaceutical company, Impax Laboratories Inc., and a class of pharmacies that received faxes from the company promoting its product.

On September 5, 2017, in light of the recent devastation of Hurricane Harvey, four Houston residents filed a putative class action suit in Texas state court, alleging that both the City of Houston and the Harris County Flood Control District deliberately released large amounts of water from two area reservoirs, which resulted in the flooding of surrounding homes and businesses.

On Monday August 21, 2017, a proposed settlement was submitted in California federal court in the Mercedes-Benz defective car seat warmer class action. Plaintiffs in the suit claim that the faulty copper wires in the seat heaters were causing sparks and even, in certain cases, catching fire.

On August 11, 2017, ride share giant, Uber Technologies Inc., agreed to a $20 million settlement to end a proposed class action litigation in the Illinois federal court that claimed that Uber violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) when it sent unwelcome text messages to both potential drivers and riders.

A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed in California state court alleging that the popular restaurant chain The Cheesecake Factory has been misleading customers who ask for split checks by suggesting gratuity amounts that do not correspond with customers’ individual bills.

On August 11, 2017 a proposed $3.95 million settlement agreement was reached between office supply super store Staples Inc. and a putative class of disgruntled customers who claim that the store failed to fulfill its end of product service plans. 

Class claims were filed in California federal court on August 4, 2017 against Home Depot USA, Inc. by a group of job applicants claiming that the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act when it forced applicants to sign unlawful waivers regarding background check consent forms.

A $97.7 million preliminary settlement agreement was reached on August 8, 2017 between consumers and automaker, Nissan, in the Takata airbag multidistrict litigation. This latest proposed settlement brings the MDL one step closer to a complete resolution as Nissan is the fifth automaker to settle. In May 2017 defendants Toyota, Subaru, Mazda and BMW agreed to a combined settlement fund of $553.6 million. The only remaining defendant automakers in the suit are Ford and Honda.