The news is also big to anyone involved in any type of class action lawsuit, since it will determine how these cases are handled from now on.  The decision in  the Walmart class action before the Supreme Court will affect even anti-trust class actions, product liabilitiy claims, and securities fraud class actions.

In fact, the Walmart class action case is so significant that we may be seeing other class action lawsuits held in limbo or stopped altogether while the decision looms before the Supreme Court.  Litigants want to see what the outcome of the Walmart lawsuit will be, before continuing with their own cases.

The Supreme Court has agreed to review the Walmart appear because the case represents much more than just the outcome of the specific Walmart case.  It will try to clear up confusion over current class action law, which lawmakers claim has many issues that need to be addresses.

Lawyers for plaintiffs in the Walmart class action fear the Supreme Court’s decision may result in undermining the rights of citizens involved in civil rights class actions.

The actual issue in the Walmart lawsuit is whether the case can be considered a class action.  Walmart lawyers are claiming the group of plaintiffs is so large they cannot possibly have anything in common.

Foreclosure Class Action

Bank of America has been named in a foreclosure class action lawsuit this week in New Jersey.  The bank is accused of rushing to foreclose and seize homes without regard to foreclosure rules or even proper paperwork.  The foreclosure class action lawsuit alleges that Bank of America acted illegally to seize homes, since in so many cases they were not the legal owner of the mortgage due to lack of proper paperwork.

A Bank of America official in Massachusetts has even admitted to signing foreclosure paperwork without even viewing the documents.  This practice has been dubbed Robo Signing.  Another supposed admission in the foreclosure class action lawsuit was the fact that the company actually suspended foreclosures for ten days in October, pending investigation of procedures. The foreclosure class action lawsuit alleges that this was widespread practice.

The plaintiffs are two associates, one of which is head of a firm in Newark which counsels homeowners with mortgages that are in trouble.  The foreclosure class action was filed Wednesday in the State of New Jersey.  It alleges that Bank of America acted without regard to foreclosure regulations, full knowledge of cases, and the full facts.  They supposedly rushed foreclosure proceedings without first obtaining the proper paperwork or fully investigating the cases.

Plaintiffs are suing for emotional stress, lost time for work for attending attorney meetings and foreclosure proceedings, and damages to their credit scores.  It is claimed that Bank of America reps often didn’t even show up for meetings with homeowners about to lose their homes.  They are alleging total disregard for policy, unfair business practices, failing to act in good faith, and violating the New Jersey Fair Foreclosure Act.  Homes were allegedly foreclosed when owners hadn’t received required notices.  What’s more, plaintiffs in the foreclosure class action claim that New Jersey judges were uncooperative in noticing the Bank’s unfair practices and behavior of employees.

Walmart Class Action

The Walmart Class Action was filed in April 2010, when it was allowed to proceed as a class action.  The original Walmart lawsuit was filed in 2001, over alleged gender discrimination against women employees.  About one million women in the United States may be part of the Walmart class action, which exposes Walmart to billions of dollars of potential loss.  Walmart asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to remove the class action status, but to no avail.  The landmark case against Walmart will now proceed with the class action status in courts.  Walmart says it will appeal again, this time to the Supreme Court.

The suit alleges that Walmart gives women fewer promotions and pays them less.  Walmart is the world’s largest retail store, and the United States’ largest private employer.  The case affects women who’ve worked in Walmart stores since 2001.  A lower court is also deciding whether women who worked at Walmart from 1998 to 2001 can also be included in the Walmart Class Action lawsuit.  There are more than three thousand Walmart stores in the United States alone.  Walmart tried unsuccessfully to undo the class action status, which is considered a big victory for the plaintiffs.

Walmart has tried hard in the last decade to upgrade its image with the public.  They’ve engaged in several high-profile public relation projects, like improving the eco friendly aspects of the businness, and helping with disaster relief efforts.

It’s interesting to note that the six judges who ruled in favor of establishing the case as a Walmart class action were appointed by Democratic presidents, while the five who ruled against where appointed by Republicans.

Experts in class action law agree that if the class action status sticks, Walmart will under tremendous pressure to settle the case.

Riot Police at the G20 in Toronto in June

Toronto Police and the federal Attorney General in Canada are named in a G20 class action lawsuit over wrongful arrests in June.  The 45 million Canadian dollar suit is brought by representative for the plaintiff, Sherry Good.  Ms. Good claims she and hundreds of others present at the protests against the G20 Summit were detained for hours and arrested without cause amidst chaos during protests that turned violent.

Violence during the otherwise peaceful G20 protests was initiated and mostly carried out by a relatively small group of people, dressed all in black and wearing black balaclavas.  This group smashed windows of small businesses, banks and coffee shops, and in some cases did some looting as well.  They also targeted at least three police cars in different sections of the city, in some cases setting them on fire.  In one case, a windshield was smashed and molotov cocktail thrown through the hole.

Ms Good, along with nearly 800 plaintiffs in the G20 class action lawsuit say they were not violent, and had nothing to do with the violence but were targeted for detention and arrest nevertheless.  They are suing the Toronto Police Services Board, who oversees the Toronto Police.  They are also suing the federal Attorney General, who legally represents the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his website are faced with allegations that his website mishandled private information and used personal data for commercial purposes, committing a breach of privacy for the main plaintiff, Donald J. Woligroski.  Mr. Woligroski is a resident Winnipeg and a registered user of Facebook.  He and the class action claim injury due to mishandling of private information on the internet.

Privacy advocates have had issue with Facebook for a long time.  The current class action filed in Canada involves sharing tools where personal information is allegedly sent to other websites.  Facebook says the claims are without merit and that they will fight the lawsuit vigorously.

Unpaid Wages are a Common Problem in the Workplace

Unpaid Wages are a widespread problem, despite decades of fair labor laws and enforcement via the State and Federal government and watchdog agencies.

Workers have had problems in this area it seems ever since there have been workers.  An until recently, the legal recourse has been limited, since an individual suing a company often didn’t come out ahead in the end, with legal costs and stress.

But now unpaid wages class action lawsuits have become more common, and workers can join together to sue a common employer for unpaid wages and overtime.  Overtime lawsuits, unpaid commissions, and unpaid wages are handled regularly in a class action format, as more lawyers specialize in this area of legal expertise.

Unpaid Wages can result from any number of the following events, which are all considered a basis for unpaid wages class action lawsuits:

1. Your overtime hours being classified incorrectly as exempt from overtime
2. no breaks for meals or rest
3. mistakes in calculating the overtime amounts
4. chargebacks
5. not getting paid for on-call, travel or other compensable time
6. failure for reimbursement
7. being classified as an independent contractor when you’re not

Unpaid wages class action lawsuits allow the worker the chance to challenge unfair payment practices on an even playing field, where as an individual, it was either too costly or too risky.