A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of April 22-28.
3rd Circ. Asks NJ Justices To Define ‘Aggrieved’ Consumer
Jeannie O’Sullivan | Law360
The New Jersey Supreme Court [has agreed] to determine if a consumer is considered aggrieved if they’ve entered into an unlawful contract, but haven’t actually incurred damages, in order to better prepare the Third Circuit to consider putative class actions involving consumer protection claims.
Lawyer Accused of Billing Over 24 Hours in a Day Suspended; but Official Said Others Were Worse
Debra Cassens Weiss | ABA Journal
West Virginia’s top court imposed a two-year suspension on a lawyer who submitted bills for court-appointed work for more than 24 hours a day on two different occasions.
VW Judge Dares Plaintiffs’ Lawyers To Go After Clients For Fees
Alison Frankel | Reuters
It’s obvious from a ruling Monday by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco that the judge does not think owners of Volkswagen “clean diesel” cars needed individual counsel. The judge denied motions by 244 plaintiffs’ lawyers who wanted VW to pay them for the time they spent drafting filings for individual car owners, suggesting edits to classwide filings and advising their clients about developments in the case, including advice about whether to participate in the $10 billion class action settlement.
Courts Continue Crackdown on New Jersey’s Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act
Michael P. Daly, Matthew J. Fedor, Andrew L. Van Houter, and Jenna M. Poligo | Drinker Biddle
A year ago we predicted an explosion of “gotcha” class actions targeting website terms of use under the New Jersey Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (“TCCWNA”). That prediction has been borne out, as the past year has seen dozens of complaints and an untold number of demand letters threatening potentially annihilating aggregate statutory damages arising from arguable violations that caused no harm to the plaintiffs or anyone else.
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