Factbox: Class action cases the U.S. top court decided this term
The U.S. Supreme Court's rulings in class action lawsuits this term favored corporate defendants over plaintiffs six cases to one. Here's the breakdown:
Wins for corporate defendants:
* Comcast Corp v. Behrend: In a March 2013 ruling the court ruled for Comcast in a dispute over how much it charged cable TV subscribers in the Philadelphia area.
* Whirlpool Corp v. Glazer and Sears Roebuck and Co v. Butler: In April and June respectively, the court blocked appeals court rulings in favor of consumers in two related cases concerning complaints about defective front-loading washing machines. The court did not hear arguments in the cases, but instead sent back the cases to the appeals court in light of the Comcast decision.
* American Express Co v. Italian Colors Restaurant: On June 20, the court ruled that merchants could not pursue class action claims because they had signed an arbitration agreement waiving those rights.
Wins for plaintiffs:
* Amgen v. Connecticut Retirement Plans: The lone loss for companies facing class action lawsuits this term. The court ruled in February that shareholders could bring a claim that the company had misled them by exaggerating the safety of two drugs.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley in Washington; Editing by Howard Goller and Lisa Shumaker)