Calif. SeaWorld Plaintiffs Don’t Want Class Action Transferred to Florida

Two plaintiffs who have filed a false advertising class action lawsuit against SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. over how it treats its orca whales say that it opposes SeaWorld’s attempt to have their class action consolidated with three other cases part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in a Southern California federal court and transferred to a Florida federal court.

Plaintiffs Marc Anderson and Ellexa Conway filed their SeaWorld class action lawsuit in the San Francisco Superior Court. Their lawsuit moved to a California federal court in the Northern district in May.

There are three other SeaWorld class action lawsuits consolidated into an MDL in the Southern District of California. SeaWorld wants all four lawsuits consolidated together and moved to a Florida federal court.

However, Anderson and Conway disagree with the proposal, saying that the three SeaWorld class action lawsuits do not merit a transfer because they aren’t complex enough and SeaWorld has exaggerated the similarities between the lawsuits.

In addition, none of the class action lawsuits part of the SeaWorld MDL in California are pending in the Middle District of Florida.

“In reality, these cases involve straightforward issues and minimally overlapping classes, and coordination can be easily achieved through informal cooperation without denying the plaintiffs their right to proceed in a forum of their choice,” Anderson and Conway wrote in their brief to the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

“When only a small number of actions or districts are subject to a motion to transfer, the movant bears a heavier burden and must show that the cases are exceptionally and unusually complex,” Anderson and Conway explain further. “That SeaWorld has failed even to acknowledge the existence of this heightened standard in its opening brief is no surprise, as SeaWorld cannot meet it here.”

The two plaintiffs also say that the proposed classes and the damages that are being pursued in their class action lawsuit is different than what those in the Southern District of California are seeking.

“The putative Anderson class is restricted to California consumers who bought tickets to SeaWorld San Diego, as compared to the nationwide classes of consumers who purchased tickets to all SeaWorld parks alleged in the” class action lawsuits in the Southern District of California, they explain.

In addition, “the Anderson class requests solely injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees, the S.D. Cal. classes ask for damages, restitution, cy pres to be awarded to an orca research organization, and all other remedies available under the relevant statutes, in addition to injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees.”

The SeaWorld class action lawsuit alleges that SeaWorld misled its customers through its advertisements about how orcas were treated at the amusement park. The lawsuits in the Southern District of California make similar allegations. SeaWorld class action lawsuits are also pending in the Middle District of Florida.

Customers began filing class action lawsuits against SeaWorld after the documentary “Blackfish” was released in January 2013 at the Sundance Film Festival and was eventually aired in October 2013 on CNN, where it “was the most widely watched program of the year for the network.”

The film follows the life of an orca whale named Tilikum that lived at SeaWorld in Orlando since 1992 and was the cause of death of three different people.

The class action lawsuits allege that SeaWorld deceives the public by concealing the impact that captivity has on these animals when confined to a tiny space.

Anderson and Conway are represented by Christine Saunders Haskett, Tracy O. Ebanks and Stephen C. Whittaker of Covington & Burling LLP.

The MDL plaintiffs are represented by Steve W. Berman, Shayne C. Stevenson and Robert F. Lopez of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.

SeaWorld is represented by Lawrence Y. Iser of Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert LLP and John M. Simpson of Norton Rose Fulbright.

The SeaWorld Class Action Lawsuit MDL is In Re: Seaworld Sales and Marketing Litigation, Case No.  2640, before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

UPDATE: On Aug. 20, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers started getting checks from the SeaWorld EZ Pay class action settlement worth as much as $97.47. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!