Class Action Blog

Summary: Three class actions were filed against Donald J. Trump and Trump University, one in state court in New York and two in the Southern District of California. The cases were settled for $25 million shortly after Mr. Trump was elected President of the United States. Sherri Simpson was the lone objector who sought to opt out of the class at the settlement stage after failing to opt out when the class was originally certified. She did not “dispute that she received, at the class certification stage, a court approved notice of her right to exclude herself from the class and chose not to do so by the deadline. She argues, however, that the class notice promised her a second opportunity to opt out of the settlement stage, or alternatively, that due process requires this second chance.” The 9th Circuit rejected both arguments.

Patricia Wright and Kevin West sued Owens Corning and Owens Corning Sales, LLC (“Owens Corning”) in Pennsylvania pursuing a nationwide class action case for allegedly selling defective roofing shingles. The summary judgment ruling in favor of the Defendants was partially reversed on appeal which led Wright and West to join with Jaime Gonzalez and others in filing similar suits in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Those cases were then transferred and consolidated in Pennsylvania. The District Court denied the motion to certify the Nationwide and Four-State Class Action cases, rulings the 3rd Circuit affirmed in March of 2018. The case was before the 3rd Circuit on a Rule 23(f) appeal.