Litigation
Hobby Distillers Association v. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau et al
In December of 2023, the Hobby Distillers Association – and four of its individual members – sued the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau…
Litigation
Competitive Enterprise Institute et al. v. EPA
Litigation
CEI v. Gina Mccarthy and the National Climate Task Force
Litigation
What Climate Policy Actions a Biden-Harris Administration Might Undertake its First 100 Days
What climate policy actions would a Biden-Harris administration undertake during its first 100 days? Climate Project 21, an organization co-chaired by…
Litigation
CEI v. NHTSA
Pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, 49 U.S.C. § 32909, the Clean Air Act § 307(b)(1), 42 U.S.C. § 7607(b)(1), Section 702 of…
Litigation
Charles and Kathleen Moore v. United States
A Washington State couple challenged as unconstitutional a part of the 2017 tax reform law known as the Mandatory Repatriation Tax. This provision taxes U.S.
Litigation
Berni v. Barilla
Class member and CCAF attorney Adam Schulman objected to settlement approval and class certification in Berni v. Barilla. The legal claim involves whether Barilla’s cardboard…
Litigation
Evangelista v. Duggan
Litigation
Frank v. Gaos
On October 31, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case Frank v. Gaos. On appeal from the Ninth Circuit, this case…
Litigation
In re Petrobras Securities Litigation
In this class action plaintiffs alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933 arising from allegedly material misstatements…
Litigation
Farrell v. Bank of America, N.A.
In this class action plaintiffs alleged that the extended overdrawn balance charges that Bank of America, N.A. charged on consumer checking accounts violated the usury…
Litigation
Online DVD Rental Antitrust Litigation
In March 2012, CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness objected to the proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart and Netflix over the…
Litigation
Cannon, et al. v. Ashburn Corp., et al.
NOTICE: This case was completed at CEI as a project of the Center for Class Action Fairness, which has become the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute.
Litigation
CEI v. Department of State
Litigation
Leung et al. v. XPO Logistics, Inc.
In Leung et al. v. XPO Logistics, Inc., CEI is objecting to a class action settlement fee request in a case involving an IKEA contractor’s alleged…
Litigation
Anthem, Inc. Data Breach Litigation
This class action relates to a data breach of Anthem’s computer system containing personal information of 78.8 million people, with a claims-made settlement that proposes…
Litigation
CEI v. FCC
After nearly a year and a half without response from the agency, the Competitive Enterprise Institute is representing individuals taking the Federal Communications Commission to…
Litigation
Competitive Enterprise Institute v. U.S. Department of State.
CEI v. State Department seeks records under two Freedom of Information Act requests for documents relating to the December 2015 Paris climate agreement, including regarding…
Litigation
CEI v. DOJ (Loretta Lynch/Elizabeth Carlisle)
The Competitive Enterprise Institute sued the Department of Justice for emails from former Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s alias email address that used the name “Elizabeth…
Litigation
CEI v. State Department
In September 2017, in response to mounting information about the role of outside influence in developing the controversial Paris climate treaty, CEI submitted a Freedom…
Litigation
Ma v. Harmless Harvest, Inc.
Class member and CCAF attorney Anna St. John objected to settlement approval, class certification, and the request for attorneys’ fees in Ma v. Harmless Harvest, Inc. The…
Litigation
Carlyle v. Akorn, Inc. et al.
Last year the Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) and CEI won an appellate victory over the self-serving Walgreens shareholder settlement, where the Seventh…
Litigation
CEI v. Department of Justice
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) sued the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on August 30, 2017, seeking documents behind…
Litigation
Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation
In this antitrust price-fixing case, the settlement includes a nationwide class indirect purchasers of lithium ion batteries in a variety of electronic equipment. Only about…
Litigation
Knapp v. Art.com Inc.
In this class action, plaintiffs allege that Art.com violated consumer protection laws and committed unlawful business practices by offering items on “sale” but at prices…
Litigation
Campbell v. Facebook, Inc.
CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness objected to a cynical class action settlement in Campbell v. Facebook, Inc. This class action arose from Facebook’s…
Litigation
Gordon v. Verizon Communications, Inc., et al.
On behalf of Jonathan M. Crist, CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness objected to plaintiff’s renewed motion for attorneys’ fees and expenses in a shareholder…
Litigation
Kumar v. Salov North America Corp., et al.
On May 2, 2017, CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) filed an objection on behalf of a class member to the proposed settlement in Kumar v.
Litigation
Arkansas Teacher Retirement System v. State Street
In November 2016, a Boston Globe’s Spotlight team reporter contacted Theodore H. Frank, director of CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) concerning double-billing the…
Litigation
Birbrower v. Quorn Foods, Inc.
The CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) represents an objector to a settlement over allegedly mislabeled food that proposes to pay class counsel over…
Litigation
Michael E. Mann v. National Review and CEI, et al.
In July 2012, a CEI adjunct analyst posted a column on CEI’s blog, criticizing climate scientist Michael Mann and the 2010 investigation of his…
Litigation
Adams v. USAA
The Center of Class Action Fairness (CCAF) was appointed as a special amicus curiae to defend the judgement of the U.S. District Court for the…
Litigation
Saska v. Metropolitan Museum of Art
Class member and CCAF attorney Anna St. John objected to settlement approval, class certification, and the request for attorneys’ fees in Saska v. Metropolitan Museum…
Litigation
Edwards v. National Milk Producers Federation, et al.
On behalf of class member Joshua Holyoak, CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness objected to class counsel’s excessive fee request in Edwards v. Milk. Under Ninth…
Litigation
In re Google Inc. Cookie Placement Consumer Privacy Litigation
CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness is challenging the legality of a class action settlement with Google that provides millions of dollars to the attorneys, and…
Litigation
Williamson v. McAfee; Kirby v. McAfee
CCAF objected to the approval of a settlement that allocates a disproportionate share of the settlement proceeds to the attorneys and has all of the…
Litigation
Aron v. Crestwood Midstream Partners
On behalf of objector David G. Duggan, CCAF is appealing the approval of the settlement of a shareholder suit in which the plaintiffs’ attorneys received…
Litigation
CEI v. The Attorney General of New York
In May 2016, CEI requested copies of all “common interest agreements” that were made with or that mentioned other state attorneys general or certain environmental…
Litigation
CEI v. White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
October 2013: CEI filed a FOIA request for work-related emails that John Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP),…
Litigation
Volkswagen ʺClean Dieselʺ Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation
On September 16, 2016, CEI filed an objection on behalf of a class member to the proposed settlement in In re Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices,…
Litigation
Allen v. Similasan Corp.
CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) filed an objection on July 1, 2016, to the proposed settlement in Allen v. Similasan, which proposed to…
Litigation
Competitive Enterprise Institute v. Department of Homeland Security
Litigation
CEI v. DOT
CEI, the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA), and former CEI employee Gordon Cummings today filed a lawsuit in April 2016 challenging a U.S.
Litigation
Rougvie v. Ascena Retail Group
On July 29, 2016 the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled in Ascena v. Rougvie that the $14 million fee request by…
Litigation
Rodriguez v. It’s Just Lunch International
The Center for Class Action Fairness represents National class member Michael Barton in objecting to this nationwide class action. CCAF filed an objection on behalf of…
Litigation
Jane Doe v. Twitter
The Center for Class Action Fairness represented objectors to settlement with twitter concerning data privacy. The settlement consisted only of cy pres money to a…
Litigation
Challenging the Clean Power Plan: CEI, et al. v. EPA
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its so-called Clean Power Plan in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the…
Litigation
Subway Footlong Sandwich Marketing And Sales Practices Litigation
In a victory for consumers, CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness successfully objected to an abusive class action settlement in a case about the length of…
Litigation
Horner and CEI v. GMU
George Mason University (GMU) faculty claimed “no records” existed in response to a Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) FOIA request regarding the involvement of Professor Ed…
Litigation
Polyurethane Foam Antitrust Litigation
On November 12, 2015, the Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) at CEI filed an objection in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District…
Litigation
CEI v. United States Department of State
Litigation
CEI Challenges TSA Body Scanner Policy
On July 15, 2015, the Competitive Enterprise Institute filed a lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for violating the law by deploying body scanners…
Litigation
Challenging Dodd-Frank: State National Bank of Big Spring v. Mnuchin
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, the 60 Plus Association, and the State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas brought a lawsuit in 2012 challenging the constitutionality…
Litigation
True v. American Honda Motor Company
The Center for Class Action Fariness’s client objected to this settlement over fuel-economy advertising because plaintiffs’ lawyers sought nearly $3M for themselves and merely coupons…
Litigation
TD Ameritrade Accountholder Litigation
In this settlement over a data security breach, plaintiffs’ lawyers were seeking $1.87M for themselves and only vouchers for the class: the district court upheld…
Litigation
Sobel v. Hertz Corporation
The Center’s client objected to this settlement over car rental fees wherein plaintiffs’ lawyers sought $1.5M for themselves but only coupons for the class; the…
Litigation
Lonardo v. Travelers Indemnity Company
In this settlement over insurance pricing, the Center’s client objected that plaintiffs’ lawyers sought $6.6M when the class would only receive $2.8M; in response, the…
Litigation
Classmates.com Consolidated Litigation
The Center’s client objected to a settlement over deceptive advertising that promised over $1M to plaintiffs’ lawyers and about $100,000 to the class. The court…
Litigation
Robert F. Booth Trust v. Crowley
The Center objected to this shareholder-derivative settlement offering no value to shareholders and $925,000 to plaintiffs’ lawyers. The district court denied the Center’s motion to intervene,…
Litigation
Nachshin v. AOL, LLC
This settlement over email advertising inappropriately channeled settlement funds to third parties unrelated to the class. The Ninth Circuit sustained the Center’s objection and reversed…
Litigation
Dewey v. Volkswagen AG
Litigation
Bluetooth Headset Products Liability Litigation
Plaintiffs sued three manufacturers of Bluetooth headsets alleging consumer fraud for failure to adequately warn of hearing loss risk. CCAF objected to the settlement that…
Litigation
American Express Anti-Steering Rules Antitrust Litigation
The Center for Class Action Fairness successfully objected to the settlement of an antitrust case where the class would only receive injunctive relief of uncertain…
Litigation
Jackson v. Wells Fargo Bank N.A.
Litigation
Colgate-Palmolive Softsoap Antibacterial Hand Soap Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation
In this action, Plaintiffs allege that defendant falsely marketed an ingredient in its antibacterial soap as eliminating 99% of germs. CCAF objected to the settlement…
Litigation
Target Corporation Customer Data Security Breach Litigation
CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness objected to an unfair settlement deal resulting from the much-publicized 2013 data breach at retail giant Target Corporation. Forty-one…
Litigation
Transpacific Passenger Air Transportation Antitrust Litigation
The Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) at CEI filed an appeal brief in the Transpacific Passenger Air Transportation Antitrust Litigation on November 4, 2015,…
Litigation
In re Google Referrer Header Privacy Litigation
In the original case, Gaos v. Google, plaintiffs sued Google seeking trillions of dollars in statutory damages for alleged federal privacy violations over their search…
Litigation
Berry v. LexisNexis
CEI appealed the district court’s approval of a settlement over data marketing practices, from which class members cannot even opt out, and under which class…
Litigation
Frank v. Poertner
CCAF objected in Poertner v. Gillette Co., a settlement of consumer fraud claims over Duracell batteries where the attorneys received $5.7 million and the class…
Litigation
Southwest Airlines Voucher Litigation
The Center’s client objected to a settlement over Southwest drink coupons given to “Business Select” passengers as a perk. Thanks to the Center’s involvement in…
Litigation
Fraley v. Facebook
Fraley, et al. v. Facebook, Inc., et al. was a class action lawsuit against Facebook in 2011 alleging the company used Facebook users’ names, pictures, and identities without…
Litigation
Blackman v. Gascho
In Blackman v. Gascho, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) sought Supreme Court review for a challenge to a lopsided class action settlement agreement that left…
Litigation
Martin v. Blessing
The Center initially objected to this settlement because, among other problems, its value to class members did not justify the $13M attorneys’ fees request. Ultimately,…
Litigation
Marek v. Lane
The Center was retained to petition the Supreme Court for review of a settlement that gave $0 for the class, $3.2M to the attorneys, and…
Litigation
Bayer Corporation Combination Aspirin Products Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation
As a result of the Center’s objection, the parties modified the settlement to increase direct payments to the class by over $5.8M. Our second objection…
Litigation
Baby Products Antitrust Litigation
This case involved a settlement of consolidated antitrust class actions brought by consumers against retailers Toys “R” Us, Babies “R” Us and several baby product…
Litigation
HP Inkjet Printer Litigation
The Ninth Circuit held that the Class Action Fairness Act requires that when class members obtain coupons in a settlement, the lawyers’ fees attributable to those…
Litigation
Dry Max Pampers Litigation
CCAF objected to this $0 settlement between Proctor & Gamble Company and consumers who purchased certain kinds of Pampers diapers where class counsel requested $2.73…
Litigation
Johnson & Johnson Derivative Litigation
The Center objected to a settlement that paid the class $0, established meaningless corporate governance changes, and paid the attorneys over $10 million: the court…
Litigation
Citigroup Inc. Securities Litigation
In 2013, CCAF (now part of CEI) objected to the fees in a securities class action in which class counsel sought an outsized percentage of…
Litigation
City of Livonia Employees Ret. Sys. v. Wyeth
The Center represented a shareholder objecting to a securities class action wherein the $16.5M plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fee request was 4.2 times their normal billing rate.
Litigation
Richardson v. L’Oreal USA
The district court sustained the Center’s objection to a settlement over shampoo labeling where the class would receive valueless injunctive relief and the attorneys sought…
Litigation
Magsafe Apple Power Adapter Litigation
In this settlement over Apple power adapters, the district court failed to appraise class relief compared to the $3M that the settlement awarded to plaintiffs’…
Litigation
Redman v. RadioShack Corp.
Plaintiffs sought statutory damages for RadioShack’s practice of printing expiration dates on credit card receipts. CCAF objected to a settlement that paid $1 million to…
Litigation
Pearson v. NBTY, Inc.
The Center became involved in the case in 2014 when it objected to a class action settlement that would have provided attorneys $4.5 million but…
Litigation
Careathers v. Red Bull North America, Inc.
In a false advertising case, the Center objected to the settlement that gave class counsel $4.75M because it was based on an exaggerated value ($18.5M)…
Litigation
Capital One Telephone Consumer Protection Act Litigation
CCAF’s client objected to a fee request where class counsel sought 30% of the $75.4 million settlement fund in a lightly-litigated Telephone Consumer Protection Act…
Litigation
BankAmerica Corporation Securities Litigation
After money from the settlement of a securities class action was distributed to the nationwide shareholder class, $2.7 million was left over. Instead of redistributing…
Litigation
EasySaver Rewards Litigation
In 2013, CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness objected to and then appealed the approval of a nationwide class settlement where 0.2% of the class received…
Litigation
Motor Fuel Temperature Sales Practices Litigation
CEI’s Center for Class Action Fairness appealed the approval of several settlements in multi-district litigation concerning the sale of motor fuel, which has been ongoing…
Litigation
Walgreen Co. Stockholder Litigation
On November 5, 2015, the Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) at CEI filed an objection to the unfair class action settlement in Hays v.