The Seventh Circuit today affirmed the Rule 23(b)(3) certification of two classes of bank employees alleging state overtime violations.  Ross v. RBS Citizens, dba Charter One and Citizens Financial Group. No. 10-3848 (January 27, 2012). The district court had certified a class of non-exempt tellers subject to an unofficial policy of denying them overtime pay, and a class of branch managers misclassified as exempt, as the majority of their time was spent on non-exempt work.  The opinion addressed two questions: 1) whether the class certification order “define[d] the class and the class claims, issues, or defenses” as required by Rule 23(c)(1)(B), and; 2) whether the classes satisfied Rule 23(a) commonality requirement as enunciated in the Dukes v. Wal-Mart case. Read more…

A federal judge has approved a $35.5 million settlement in a class action in which plaintiffs charged that Babies ‘R’ Us and a group of baby product manufacturers violated antitrust law.

The class action charged that Babies “R” Us conspired with the manufacturers to restrict competition by requiring all retailers to sell their goods at or above a minimum resale price, and thus, that the class paid inflated prices for products, Judge Brody said Tuesday in her memorandum opinion in McDonough v. Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. and Elliott v. Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. Read more…

The US Supreme Court on January 17, 2012, turned down an appeal from Applebee’s International Inc., which is battling a lawsuit from more than 5,500 bartenders and servers accusing the restaurant chain of underpaying them.   The high court declined to hear Applebee’s case, which focuses on a practice in which restaurants pay employees reduced minimum wage by factoring in the extra boost provided by tips. Read more…

A federal judge in the Northern District of California certified a class led by a  Cupertino couple who say Washington Mutual and JPMorgan Chase suspended and reduced credit limits on their home equity credit lines without valid reasons.

Jeffrey and Jenifer Schulken sued Washington Mutual Bank and JPMorgan Chase in 2009, alleging Truth in Lending Act violations, unfair competition and other claims. Read more…