Branch v. Cream-O-Land Dairy, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). As summarized here, the Appellate Division in this overtime Wage and Hour Law (“WHL”) class action case reversed a summary judgment ruling for the defense, holding that the statute’s “good faith defense” was not available to defendant. Today, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Patterson, the Supreme Court affirmed that decision. The Court’s decision was based on the plain language of the statute. As Justice Patterson summarized, to invoke the good faith defense, an employer must “‘plead[] and...

Hargrove v. Sleepy’s Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2020). Readers of this blog know of my distaste (to say the least) for the Third Circuit’s unique interpretation of the idea that a class must be ascertainable in order to be certified. That issue has been discussed, among other places, here, here and here. The Third Circuit has been gradually trimming back its view of ascertainability, and other Circuits, as well as New Jersey’s Appellate Division, have rejected the Third Circuit’s broad view. Yesterday, the Third Circuit took another positive step, holding by a 2-1...

In re Suboxone Antitrust Litig., ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2020). In this antitrust class action case, direct purchasers of Suboxone, a prescription pharmaceutical used to treat addiction to opioids, sued its manufacturer (“Reckitt”) for what Judge Shwartz summarized as “anticompetitive conduct that impeded the entry of generic versions of the drug into the market,” in violation of section 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 2. The District Court certified a class. Reckitt appealed, but the Third Circuit affirmed, applying the abuse of discretion standard of review. Reckitt...