Vail Resorts has offered a proposed $13.1 settlement in five wage and labor lawsuits. The California lawsuit stems from allegations that the resorts did not provide staff compensation for specific activities, like training, meetings, meal breaks, among other things. Additionally, they were accused of failing to reimburse for equipment. 

There is still an active proposed class action lawsuit in Colorado against Vail Resorts.


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A drinking water contamination class action lawsuit has settled for $34 million, pending final court approval. Bennington, Vermont area residents near a facility that made fiberglass fabrics coated in Teflon which was produced using perfluorooctanoic acid alleged that contaminated some 2,400 properties and 8,000 residents in Bennington.  The defendant is a French company.

Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation agreed to pay affected property owners $26.2 million and up to $6 million to medically monitor those individuals exposed.


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A proposed settlement in a wage and hour lawsuit filed in 2017 by Farmers Insurance special investigators received court approval on Monday. The lawsuit alleged that Farmers Insurance failed to pay overtime pay including meal breaks and rest periods under the Fair Labor Standards Act to their special investigators. Each investigator in the lawsuit is set to receive an average of $47,000.

The $5.4 million dollar settlement includes any person who worked for Farmers Insurance as a special investigator in California between 2013 and 2018.

The case is David Deluca et al. v. Farmers Insurance Exchange et al., case number 3:17-cv-00034 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.


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A proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit against Walmart for allegedly deceiving purchasers of weighed meat products in their advertising was reached. As a specific meat product closed in on their expiration dates, the lawsuit alleges that Walmart would place them on sale using a unit price. The class asserts that the unit price ultimately was not accurate at final checkout leaving customers to pay more per unit than the package advertised. These products included fish, poultry, pork, and beef. Some packaged foods were also included.

The settlement, worth up to $9.5 million, was submitted on August 7, 2020 in the Southern District of Florida for preliminary approval. If approved, Walmart will begin with reimbursements at $4.5 million and, if necessary, increase that amount up to $9.5 million. The settlement includes up to $10.00 for undocumented purchases of weighed meats and $40 for documented purchases of weighed meats. Documented weighed meats may include receipts or proof of purchase but does not need to include regular packaging. Attorneys fees and costs were also included. Attorneys calculated the average overcharge to purchasers nationwide was approximately $1.67 per purchase.

The class contains all persons who purchased weighed meats at Walmart in the United States from February 13, 2015 to the date the notice of settlement is issued.

The case is Kukorinis v. Walmart Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-20592 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.


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Bayer has settled a class action lawsuit regarding claims that Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup caused non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The settlement includes the lawsuits from the federal multidistrict litigation and state of California. The deal includes an estimated range of $8.8-$9.6 billion for current lawsuits and an additional $1.25 billion to provide relief for potential future plaintiffs who may develop an illness but are not current plaintiffs.

In addition to the Roundup settlement, Bayer also reached a settlement of $400 million in the dicamba drift cases and approximately $820 million in some of the PCB contamination lawsuits brought by public entities.

Bayer purchased Monsanto in 2018.

A $63 million proposed settlement was proposed in a North Carolina federal court over allegations that JPMorgan Chase bank overcharged servicemember customers under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2016, alleged the bank charged fees and interest, both improperly high, on servicemember debts. The class filed a motion for preliminary approval and Chase, who does not admit to any wrongdoing, filed separately that is does not oppose the proposed settlement terms. The next step is for final approval by the Court.

The case is Childress et al. v JPMorgan Chase & Co., et al., case number 5:16-cv-00298 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.


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Apple announced the settlement of a class action in which it has agreed to pay up to $500 million to iPhone users accusing the tech company of releasing software updates that slowed down the performance of some smartphones. The settlement will give class members $25 each for their phones. If the payouts, attorney fees and expenses don’t add up to at least $310 million, class members will receive up to $500 apiece until that minimum settlement amount is reached.

The class action alleged that an Apple software update released around the same time as a new version of an iPhone negatively affected the battery life of older models, forcing some customers to spend hundreds of dollars on a new phone.

The case is In re: Apple Inc. Device Performance Litigation, case number 5:18-md-02827, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.


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A $54.6 million jury verdict for truckers who said Walmart violated California law by not paying minimum wage for breaks and other work interruptions was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit. Walmart challenged a November 2016 jury verdict in favor of a class of more than 800 truckers for almost $55 million in damages on claims the retailer violated California law requiring minimum wages for all work. While it found Walmart — which paid workers based on their activities — did not short workers for certain aspects of their work, the jury found the company owed wages for mandatory 10-hour layovers between driving periods, pre- and post-trip inspections, and rest breaks.

Under California law, employers owe workers minimum wage for work interruptions in which they nonetheless have “control” over employees. The verdict built on pretrial rulings by the district court that Walmart’s written policy denied workers minimum wage for these interruptions, with the jury finding that Walmart shorted workers in practice, too.

Walmart argued that it did not control workers in writing or in fact, saying the court and the jury misread its policy. But the majority disagreed, saying the policy as written exerted “control” over workers because they had to get “permission to enjoy one of the most fundamental privileges that all employees enjoy — the autonomy to go home when they are not working.” And the workers offered ample evidence for the jury to conclude that Walmart so restricted them in practice, the panel said.

The case is Ridgeway et al. v. Walmart Inc., cases number 17-15983 and 17-16142, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.


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Kemet has reached a $62 million settlement of antitrust litigation in California federal court accusing several electronics parts manufacturers of agreeing to fix the price of capacitors. Groups of direct and indirect purchasers have accused more than a dozen overseas manufacturers including Panasonic Corp. and Sanyo of conspiring to fix prices for aluminum, tantalum and film capacitors over the last decade. U.S. District Judge James Donato certified a class of direct buyers in November 2018.

The lawsuit was filed in July 2014. In April 2018, indirect purchasers reached a $20 million deal with several manufacturers and later that year they reached a $21.5 million agreement with Nichicon Corp.


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AT&T will pay $60 million to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for allegedly slowing data speeds for millions of wireless customers who paid for the “unlimited” plans. The federal regulators complaint said that the company would reduce customers’ internet speeds by as much as 90%. The FTC said the company did not adequately disclose to consumers that it would slow data speeds once the consumers used a certain amount of data in their monthly cycle.


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A federal judge in Illinois granted final approval to a $75 million settlement in a class action involving concussions in student-athletes. The settlement between the NCAA and millions of student-athletes establishes a $70 million medical monitoring fund that will pay for assessments of self-reported concussion symptoms and medical evaluations, if necessary. The monitoring will be available for 50 years, but class members can bring individual and class claims for monitoring if the fund depletes before the end of that time frame.

The deal calls for the NCAA to change its concussion management and return-to-play policies to reflect best practices. It also requires the organization to contribute $5 million within the first 10 years to concussion-related research that it otherwise would not have funded without the settlement.

The case is In re National Collegiate Athletic Association Student-Athlete Concussion Injury Litigation, case number 1:13-cv-09116, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.


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The Public Justice blog recently posted an article, “Major Victory in Oregon Vindicates Class Actions.” To read the blog post, click here.


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Uber Technologies Inc. has agreed to pay $20 million to nearly 14,000 drivers to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that the ride-hailing company misclassified those drivers as independent contractors. The settlement only includes drivers in Massachusetts and California that did not have arbitration clauses in their contracts with Uber.

In 2015, a California federal court had certified a class of 240,000 California drivers. In 2016, that court was presented with a $100 million settlement that included the Massachusetts drivers. But the court rejected the earlier agreement, taking issue with the resolution of the Private Attorneys General Act claims in the case. That case was later greatly diminished when the Ninth Circuit ruled in September that Uber’s arbitration agreements with class waivers were valid and enforceable, reversing the lower court’s finding to the contrary.

The case is O’Connor et al. v. Uber Technologies Inc. et al., case number 3:13-cv-03826, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.


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Swift Transportation Co. Inc. has agreed to pay $100 million to about 20,000 drivers to settle a class action alleging that it makes its drivers fake owner-operators in order to avoid federal and state wage laws. The lawsuit was filed in December 2009 and alleged that Swift misclassified its drivers as independent contractors and paid them below the federal minimum wage after making them lease and maintain their trucks and pay for gas, tolls, insurance and other costs. The suit also included claims for violations of state wage, contract and forced labor laws.

Swift tried to compel the drivers to arbitrate their claims individually pursuant to arbitration agreements in the independent contractor agreements. An Arizona federal judge rejected Swift’s arbitration bid in early 2017, saying the pacts were invalid under a Federal Arbitration Act exemption barring interstate transportation companies from making workers covered by “contracts of employment” bring claims in arbitration. In January 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court said the FAA’s so-called transportation exemption applies to contractors, mooting an appeal by Swift.

The case is Virginia Van Dusen et al. v. Swift Transportation Co. Inc. et al., case number 2:10-cv-00899, before the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.


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Consumers and Scotts Miracle-Gro submitted a motion for preliminary approval of a settlement in California federal court arising out of a class action alleging that the lawn company knowingly sold bird food laced with toxic pesticides. The settlement is for up to $85 million, depending on how many class members file claims. The settlement will fully refund money to any class members with valid proof of purchase or retailer records, and up to $100 per household for those class members who no longer have a proof of purchase, as long as sufficient money remains in the settlement fund. Continue reading “Scotts Miracle-Gro Settles Bird Seed with Pesticide Class Action for $85 Million”

A $1.5 billion settlement between Syngenta and 650,000 corn producers over the agricultural giant’s genetically modified corn seed was approved. The order from U.S. District Judge John W. Lungstrum noted that the case was “hotly contested,” with the merits of the corn producer claims “thoroughly vetted through litigation” in multiple jurisdictions. Continue reading “Syngenta $1.5 Billion Settlement of GMO Corn Class Action Approved”

More auto parts manufacturers agreed to pay roughly $73 million to settle claims that they colluded to fix prices in the Auto Parts MDL Litigation pending in Michigan. The auto parts included bearings, automotive lamps and HID ballasts. Continue reading “More Auto Parts Manufacturers Settle for Additional $73 Million”

Lawyers representing T-Mobile users filed a motion asking for preliminary approval of a $22 million class action settlement in California federal court arising out of a data breach by Experian. The settlement will provide credit monitoring and insurance services, and an additional $11.7 million worth of remedial and enhanced security measures that Experian has taken on as a result of the litigation. Continue reading “Experian Settles Data Breach Class Action Brought by T-Mobile Users for $22 Million”

Last week, motel chain Motel 6 announced it had settled a class action brought on behalf of Latino motel guests who claimed that Motel 6 unlawfully disclosed their personal information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agents. The suit was originally filed in January 2018, in Arizona federal court, by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Continue reading “Motel 6 Settles Discrimination Class Action Relating to ICE for $6.6 Million”

Yahoo has agreed to pay $50 million to the approximately 200 million customers whose personal information was compromised in what reportedly was the largest data breach in history. The settlement also provides for credit monitoring services for two years for class members. Continue reading “Yahoo Settles Data Breach Class Action for $50 Million”