Archives: Expert Testimony

Common and Predominating Damages: Comcast Opinion Extends Wal-Mart v. Dukes’ Standards for Class Certification but Leaves the Question of Daubert for Another Day

Co-authored by: John B. Lewis, Dustin M. Dow, Patrick T. Lewis, Danyll W. Foix, and Rodger L. Eckelberry Editor’s Note: This Executive Alert was published by members of BakerHostetler’s Securities Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement Team, Employment Team, and BakerHostetler’s Class Action Team. On March 27, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, Case … Continue Reading

Comcast Oral Argument Raises Interesting Questions Surrounding the Application of Daubert to Class Certification

By John Lewis on November 9, 2012 Posted in Antitrust, Civil Procedure, Class Certification, Expert Testimony

Editors’ Note: The following post was originally published on Baker’s Employment Class Action blog. On November 5, 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Comcast Corporation v. Behrend, No. 11-864 which arose from an action brought by Philadelphia cable subscribers alleging that Comcast monopolized Philadelphia’s cable market and excluded competition in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of … Continue Reading

The Stakes are High as Supreme Court Considers Evidentiary Standards for Expert Testimony on Class Certification

By Paul Karlsgodt on August 28, 2012 Posted in Class Certification, Expert Testimony

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument in the case of Comcast v. Behrend this November. The Court’s decision in that case should further refine the Court’s guidance in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes about the proper standards for federal courts in reviewing motions for class certification. Recently, a team of appellate and … Continue Reading

Recent Louisiana Jurisprudence

By Brett Wall on July 12, 2012 Posted in Class Certification, Expert Testimony, Louisiana, Predominance, State Class Action Law

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

Trial By Formula, Statistical Sampling, and the Right to Due Process

By Paul Karlsgodt on April 6, 2012 Posted in Class Certification, Expert Testimony

A common temptation in class action litigation is to fashion procedures based on “rough justice” to avoid overburdening the courts or attempting to redress alleged mass harm. Over the past decade, as storage and computing power have increased exponentially, it has become increasingly tempting to use statistical sampling as a proxy for the actual adjudication of … Continue Reading

Daubert in the Seventh Circuit After Wal-Mart

By Brett Wall on February 2, 2012 Posted in Expert Testimony

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

Daubert Revisited

By Mark Johnson on January 2, 2012 Posted in Expert Testimony, Rule 23 Requirements

After the Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), the application of Daubert at the class certification stage has been one of recent confusion. Although not all circuits have addressed whether a full Daubert analysis is necessary at the class certification stage, the Eighth Circuit announced its approach in In … Continue Reading