Class Actions

Individual plaintiffs and their lawyers frequently seek to aggregate their claims with others to sue a target business as a group to challenge some perceived wrong. Whether the perceived wrong relates to a business’s product, policy or practice, a class action presents high-stakes and sometimes bet-the-company exposure that cannot be taken lightly.

An effective defense of a class action requires careful management of each stage of the case. The battle often begins with testing the legitimacy of the complaint through motion practice. If the case survives, the battle turns to class discovery in which a representative plaintiff inevitably seeks to dig deep into a business’s paper and electronic archives to find support for their claim. If not managed carefully, class discovery can quickly turn into a time and resource-sapping morass. Class discovery often includes depositions of experts retained by the parties to produce reports in support of and in opposition to class certification.  Extensive briefing of the class issues follows and culminates in the class certification hearing, where most class actions are effectively won or lost. If the class is certified, the battle continues through potential dispositive motions, trial and appeal. When appropriate, a business may consider a class-wide settlement along the way to prevent endless litigation and to place a reasonable cap on potential liabilities.