Highlights from this issue include:

Attorney Cannot Serve As Both Class Representative and Counsel. The Second Circuit affirmed the denial of class certification in a case brought against the Government of England asserting injuries arising from the lasting historical harms of the transatlantic slave trade. The case was brought by an attorney proceeding pro se, and the Second Circuit affirmed that a pro se attorney fails the adequacy requirement because they cannot adequately represent the class and serve as class counsel at the same time.

Antitrust. The Western District of New York denied certification in a case alleging the defendants violated antitrust law by entering into a combination or conspiracy to artificially reduce or eliminate competition for the pricing of caustic soda sold in the United States.

Invasion of Privacy. The Northern District of California granted certification of certain claims brought against Google for alleged privacy violations due to Google Assistant recording users when the user has not uttered a “hot word” or manually activated it. The court certified a class alleging breach of contract and Unfair Competition Law “unlawful” prong claims. It refused, however, to certify a class alleging privacy claims because there was no named plaintiff who suffered the harms claimed.