Worldwide: Class Actions

A&O Shearman's Texas-based securities litigation team examines the evolving landscape of federal securities litigation in the Fifth Circuit as public companies and financial institutions increasingly relocate to Texas.

This monthly newsletter examines significant legal trends and landmark cases in product liability and mass torts, including recent court decisions on pharmaceutical preemption, medical device litigation...

A Pennsylvania federal district court judge granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss a proposed class action alleging Penn State Health mismanaged its defined-contribution retirement plans. The judge also ordered discovery into claims that the poorly performing investment options breached fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

The Seventh Circuit’s July 2026 decision in Franco v. Chobani, LLC is interesting for several reasons for ad law followers and enthusiasts, and it has already spurred multiple follow-on class actions challenging ​“zero sugar,” ​“no added sugar,” and similar claims on products containing allulose. The developing litigation highlights a broader risk relevant for all regulated industries, but especially for food, beverage, and dietary supplement companies heeding evolving FDA guidance: compliance with agency guidance may reduce regulatory risk, but it may not prevent private plaintiffs from bringing claims under state consumer protection laws.

A federal court dismissed securities fraud claims against an AI software company, ruling that plaintiffs failed to prove executives knowingly misled investors about customer churn and deal quality during a strategic repositioning. The decision examines whether generic risk disclosures create a duty to reveal materialized risks and what level of internal knowledge constitutes securities fraud.

When an insurance administrator sends text messages to customers using data obtained through a dealership's point-of-sale system, can it claim an established business relationship exemption? A California federal court examines whether handling customer data for a partner creates direct liability and whether receiving information from a dealer constitutes a business relationship with the end customer.

A California Court of Appeal examined whether an arbitration agreement signed during employee onboarding was enforceable when paired with a confidentiality agreement that created a one-sided dispute resolution structure. The court analyzed both procedural and substantive unconscionability, focusing on how the combined documents favored the employer's ability to litigate certain claims while forcing the employee into arbitration for wage-and-hour disputes.

A federal district court dismissed a securities class action against a value grocery retailer and its executives, finding that plaintiffs failed to adequately allege false statements, scienter, or loss causation related to the company's troubled enterprise resource planning system transition. The court distinguished this case from similar software rollout litigation by emphasizing that defendants disclosed issues throughout the transition rather than concealing known problems.

A federal court in Michigan denied plaintiffs' motion for court-facilitated notice in a collective action alleging unpaid pre-shift and post-shift work violations under the FLSA. The court found that six declarations from employees across multiple facilities were insufficient to demonstrate that thousands of workers were similarly situated, particularly given evidence of differing policies, handbooks, and collective bargaining agreements across the company's six plants in four states.