On May 17, the Eleventh Circuit decided Carriuolo v. General Motors Co., 2016 WL 2870025 (11th Cir. May 17, 2016), affirming the district court’s partial grant of a motion for class certification. The plaintiffs’ motion in the district court involved four classes relating to four claims, but the district court denied certification of three and only granted…
Month: May 2016
Waiver of the Right to Arbitrate Federal Claim Does Not Extend to Later-Asserted State-Law Claims
On April 21, the Eleventh Circuit decided Collado v. J. & G. Transport, Inc., 820 F.3d 1256 (11th Cir. 2016), holding that a defendant’s waiver through litigation of the right to arbitrate claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) did not extend to state-law claims asserted by a later amendment to the complaint. Enrique Collado,…
FDCPA “Initial Communications With Consumers”: A Communication to the Consumer’s Attorney Counts, and the Requirement that Disputes be “In Writing” Must Be Included
In Bishop v. Ross Earle & Bonan, P.A., 817 F.3d 1268 (11th Cir. 2016), the Eleventh Circuit, addressing three issues of first impression, held that (1) a collection notice sent to a debtor’s attorney was a “communication with a consumer” within the meaning of § 1692g of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”); (2)…
Class Certification Vacated for Lack of Predominance
The Eleventh Circuit handed Electrolux a major victory when it vacated the classes certified in Brown v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc., 817 F.3d 1225, a March 21, 2016 opinion authored by Judge William Pryor. The opinion was not an unqualified victory, however, since the court was unwilling to adopt key arguments made by Electrolux and…