Contributing Author: Amanda Karp The Supreme Court of Louisiana recently struck down the trial and appellate courts’ class certification in Alexander v. Norfolk Southern Corp., 82 So.3d 1234 (La. 2012) for a lack of predominance of common issues. The case highlights the critical importance of procuring expert testimony on predominance issues at the class certification … Continue Reading
Co-authored by Amanda Karp A recent decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York highlights two key concepts in representative litigation: (1) associational standing to bring a representative action; and (2) the propriety of class certification when class members’ interests may be in conflict with one another. Case Summary … Continue Reading
The Seventh Circuit’s recent decision in Messner v. Northshore University HealthSystem, No. 10-2514, 2012 WL 129991 (7th Cir. 2012) built on a 2010 decision from the Circuit and held that, where the admissibility of an expert critical to class certification issues is challenged, the district court must conduct a Daubert review prior to denying class … Continue Reading
The Eighth Circuit’s 2010 decision in Avritt v. Reliastar Life Insurance Co., 615 F.3d 1023 (8th Cir. 2010) denied class certification for, among other claims, a California Unfair Competition Law claim where class members could not prove through uniform evidence that the defendants engaged in misconduct. Two subsequent California federal cases have, however, not been … Continue Reading
In a recent decision, the Seventh Circuit held that bad behavior by class counsel can lead to denial of class certification, even where that behavior doesn’t rise to the level of “the most egregious misconduct.” In Creative Montessori Learning Centers v. Ashford Gear LLC, 662 F.3d 913 (7th Cir. 2011), Plaintiffs brought a purported class … Continue Reading
