By Andrew H. Perellis, Alex W. Karasik, and Patrick D. Joyce

Seyfarth Synopsis: In a toxic tort class action stemming from automotive and dry cleaning facilities’ alleged contamination of groundwater near Dayton, Ohio, the Sixth Circuit affirmed an Ohio federal district court’s grant to certify seven common issues for classwide treatment under Rule 23(c)(4). Shortly thereafter, the four
Continue Reading Sixth Circuit Holds Class Certification on Issues is Appropriate in Toxic Tort Action

By Andrew H. Perellis, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen

iStock_000042612884_MediumSeyfarth Synopsis: The Eighth Circuit found that a class action could not be sustained in an environmental pollution case because “the class lacks the requisite commonality and cohesiveness to satisfy Rule 23.”

In Karl Ebert v.  General Mills, Inc., No. 15-1735 (8th Cir. May 20,
Continue Reading 8th Circuit Court Finds Class Action Inappropriate to Resolve Neighborhood Claims for Damages Arising From Environmental Contamination

By Geoffrey C. Westbrook and Joshua M. Henderson

Just when one might have thought California employment law couldn’t get any stickier for employers, in January 2014 the California Legislature turned up the heat by expanding meal and rest break penalty provisions. Now there’s a new penalty for failure to provide “cool-down,” or recovery, periods to prevent heat illness.

Before, heat
Continue Reading Avoid the Summer Heat! Sweat the Details of California’s “Cool-Down” Periods and Avoid the Burn of Wage and Hour Class Litigation

By Andrew H. Perellis

Where individual questions overwhelm questions common to the class, a class action cannot be maintained. This simple concept has met with mixed results when applied to the question of whether a class action can proceed for claims based on contaminated groundwater underlying the property of putative class members.

The determination of whether individual questions overwhelm often
Continue Reading Parko v. Shell Oil – Seventh Circuit Douses Class Action Where No One is Drinking Contaminated Groundwater

By Andrew H. Perellis

Can a toxic tort class action be maintained where class certification was denied in a materially similar case?

As noted in an item posted by our partners in The Workplace Class Blog, in Baker v Home Depot USA, Inc., No 11-CV-06768 (N.D. Illinois, Jan. 24, 2013), the court granted a motion striking the class

Continue Reading Under Principle of Comity, Plaintiff Lacks Class When Other Courts have Denied Class Certification in Similar Cases

We wanted to take a short break from our regular blogging as congratulations are in order. Our colleagues in Seyfarth’s Wage and Hour Litigation Practice Group have authored the first-of-its-kind treatise on wage and hour litigation. The book, titled “Wage & Hour Collective and Class Litigation,” has been published by American Lawyer Media’s Law Journal Press and now is available
Continue Reading Seyfarth’s Wage and Hour Litigation Practice Group Authored First-of-its-Kind Treatise: “Wage & Hour Collective and Class Litigation”