Class Action Defense Strategy Blog : Class Action Lawyer & Attorney : Sheppard Mullin Law Firm : Antitrust, Securities, Wage & Hour, Consumer Fraud

By Paul Seeley

In Avritt v. Reliastar Life Ins., __ F.3d__ (8th Circ. 8-12-2010), the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed an order denying class certification of a putative class of California annuity investors who were allegedly misled by the defendant. The opinion re-affirms the federal rules that require the plaintiff to show that it can prove reliance and damages on a class-wide basis before the court certifies a class while simultaneously limiting the persuasive authority of Tobacco II.
 

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By Judy Suwatanapongched

In Walnut Producers of California v. Diamond Foods, Inc., Case No. C060346 (August 16, 2010), the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District held that a class arbitration waiver in an agreement between walnut producers and a walnut processor is not unconscionable. Plaintiffs include Walnut Producers of California, a nonprofit cooperative marketing association whose members are walnut growers, and walnut producer George J. Miller Ranch, Inc. Defendant Diamond Foods is the successor by way of merger to Diamond Walnut Growers, Inc. (“Co-op”), an agricultural cooperative.
 

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