18th Annual Workplace Class Action Report - 2022 Edition

656 Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report: 2022 Edition inability to supply the airline with functioning aircraft. The Court also held that Plaintiffs’ negligence and negligent misrepresentation claims were barred by Illinois’ version of the economic loss doctrine, which mandates that a Plaintiff cannot recover for solely economic loss under a negligence theory. Id . at *8-9. For these reasons, the Court granted Defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Connectors Realty Group. Corp., et al. v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57400 (N.D. Ill. March 25, 2021). Plaintiffs filed a class action alleging that Defendant treated insurance claims from black-majority zip codes in southern Cook County and the south side of Chicago as presumptively fraudulent and denied the claims without reason in violation of 42 U.S.C § 1981 and the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 320. Defendant filed a motion to strike the class allegations in the complaint, and the Court granted the motion. Plaintiffs’ proposed class included “all African-Americans in the State of Illinois who reside in majority African- American ZIP Code areas and have submitted claims for property loss and damage to State Farm during the period 2015 to the present.” Id . at *3. Defendant contended that the class allegations must be stricken because it was impossible for Plaintiffs to certify the class. Specifically, Defendant contended that Plaintiffs could not meet the requirements of Rule 23(a) and that a class action could not be maintained under Rules 23(b)(2) and 23(b)(3) and that the class was overbroad. Plaintiffs’ allegations were that African-American property owners had their claims denied or treated as presumptively fraudulent because of their race. The Court concluded that the class was thus overbroad because the Plaintiffs’ proposed class definition would include individuals whose claims were not denied and therefore did not suffer any harm. Accordingly, the Court granted Defendant’s motion to strike the class claims, with leave to amend. Dajti, et al. v. Penn Community Bank, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62422 (E.D. Penn. March 31, 2021) . Plaintiff, a bank employee, filed a class action alleging that Defendant subjected her to discrimination on the basis of her pregnancy when it denied her access to a location to express breastmilk and subjected her to negative comments regarding breastfeeding in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), which the Court denied. Defendant argued that Plaintiff’s claims failed to state a viable claim of discrimination in violation of Title VII because Plaintiff did not identify any non-breastfeeding employees who were treated more favorably than Plaintiff. The Court disagreed that Plaintiff was required to identify other employees who were treated more favorably if Plaintiff established a causal nexus between her membership in a protected class and the adverse employment action. The Court found that the complaint sufficiently did so, as it stated that prior to her return to work following her pregnancy, Plaintiff notified Human Resources and her manager that she would need a designated lactation room, but when she returned to work, she "was only given the option to go home to pump her breasts since there allegedly was no space in the Branch" to add a designated lactation room. Id . at *12. Further, Plaintiff alleged that after her manager complained that she was unable to keep up with the customers while Plaintiff traveled home to pump, Plaintiff was forced to pump her breasts in a communal kitchen, and subjected to disparaging comments about breastfeeding. Id. The complaint also alleged facts that suggested that Defendant had a history of discrimination against pregnant or lactating employees. After Defendant finally provided a space for Plaintiff after three months, it subsequently fired Plaintiff even though she had an acceptable employment record without any prior performance issues. The Court concluded that construing the allegations of the complaint in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, she plausibly alleged a causal nexus between Plaintiff’s membership in a protected class and Defendant’s decision to terminate her. Defendant also argued that that Plaintiff’s retaliation claims failed because the complaint did not adequately plead that she engaged in a protected activity. The Court again disagreed with Defendant’s position. The Court opined that the complaint sufficiently alleged that Plaintiff complained about her manager’s conduct and difficulties she was having with pumping breast milk and attending to her older child’s medical needs. The Court reasoned that these complaints were protected activity. The Court also determined that Plaintiff’s allegation that she was fired just over two weeks later give rise to an inference of causation between Plaintiff’s complaints and her termination. For these reasons, the Court denied Defendant’s motion to dismiss. Dennis, et al. v. State Teachers Retirement Board, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154432 (S.D. Ohio Aug. 17, 2021). Plaintiffs, a group of retired school teachers, filed a class action alleging violations of their rights under the federal and state constitutions, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unjust enrichment in connection with Defendants’ decision to eliminate annual cost of living increases in the teachers’ defined