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September 2009 Newsletter |
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 | The Role of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Class Action and Mass Tort Litigation
By CRYSTAL S. YAGOOBIAN, ESQ. |
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With the ever-increasing costs of legal representation, as well as the backlog of court dockets and the time invested in litigation, various legal sectors are now implementing, or already have implemented, alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") programs. The Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 1998 defines ADR as including any "process or procedure, other than an adjudication by a presiding judge, in which a neutral third party participates to assist in the resolution of issues in controversy, through processes such as early neutral evaluation, mediation, mini-trial, and arbitration..." The use of ADR in the litigation setting has a long history.
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| State vs. Federal Court: Pleading False Advertising Claims in California
By LAUNA ADOLPH, ESQ. |
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Recently, in Kearns v. Ford Motor Co., 567 F.3d 1120, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 12289 (9th Cir. 2009), the Ninth Circuit held that false advertising claims under California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act ("CLRA") and Unfair Competition Law ("UCL") are subject to Rule 9(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ("FRCP") which requires that allegations of fraud be pleaded with particularity. This holding diverges from the standard in California state courts where, at the pleadings stage, plaintiffs are not required to identify the specific representations on which consumers relied. See Committee on Children's Television, Inc. v. General Foods Corp., 35 Cal.3d 197, 212-213 (1983); In re Tobacco II Cases, 46 Cal.4th 298, 328 (2009).
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| The LAPD and Emerging Standards for Compensability of Donning and Doffing Time
By ANNE KELSON, ESQ. |
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Until recently, it has been fairly unclear just how much time spent changing into and out of uniforms ("donning and doffing") rises above being de minimis and uncompensable. Two recent decisions concerning donning and doffing of Los Angeles Police Department uniforms clarify the de minimis standard.
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