Author Archives: Scott Nelson

Massachusetts High Court Strikes Down Arbitration Class Action Ban

This morning, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued two opinions addressing whether there remain any circumstances in which an arbitration agreement that bans class actions can still be challenged after the Supreme Court's decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion. The SJC strongly aligned itself with the view that Concepcion does not make class […]

Ninth Circuit Denies Rehearing in Facebook Settlement Case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today refused to reconsider its opinion last fall upholding the settlement of a class action asserting claims based on Facebook's "Beacon" program, under which Facebook posted information about purchases and video rentals Facebook users made from companies that participated in the program. The settlement provides for […]

Ninth Circuit Holds “Parallel” Failure to Warn Claim Not Preempted by Medical Device Amendments

In an en banc ruling released today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the federal Medical Device Amendments do not preempt a patient's tort claim alleging that that manufacturer violated its state-law duty to warn of dangers when it did not report "adverse events" to the FDA, as required by […]