Duane Morris Consumer Fraud Class Action Review – 2024

II. What Should Companies Expect In 2024? Class action litigation is a staple of the American judicial system. The volume of class action filings has increased each year for the past decade, and 2024 is likely to follow that trend. In this environment, corporate programs designed to ensure compliance with existing laws and strategies to mitigate class action litigation risks are corporate imperatives. The plaintiffs’ bar is nothing if not innovative and resourceful. Given the massive class action settlement figures in 2022 and 2023 (a combined total of $113 billion), coupled with the ever-developing law, corporations can expect more lawsuits, expansive class theories, and an equally if not more aggressive plaintiffs’ bar in 2024. These conditions necessitate planning, preparation, and decision-making to position corporations to withstand and defend class action exposures. Defendants often have very little time to react to the plaintiff’s forum choice after a class action is filed, even though it may be one of the most important initial questions in the case. In turn, a cascading number of strategic considerations are typically faced by corporate decision-makers upon receipt of the class action filing. Should the company opt to remove the case from state court to federal court (and are there grounds to do so under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005)? Is it better to have a federal judge who has the time and expertise to fully vet the parties’ briefs and arguments and likely will apply a more rigorous evidentiary standard to expert testimony and class certification requirements? However, will removing the case cause other plaintiff’s counsel to track the litigation and lead to more sophisticated counsel becoming involved or more “tag-along” class action filings? Will removing the case make settlement more difficult and potentially affect the structure of the settlement as well as its costs and the exposure in the class action? How will standing issues play out in each forum, and is standing a viable defense to gut the basis of the class theories? Can jurisdictional defenses fracture the class action by invoking Bristol-Myers Squibb ? Does the company have an arbitration agreement with employees, consumers, or third-parties that would support a motion to compel arbitration of the claims in the lawsuit on an individual, bilateral basis? Is the potential of a motion to transfer the case to an MDL after removal good or bad for the ultimate defense and handling of the litigation? What are the steps for a full and complete early case assessment, and is the company’s relevant electronically-stored information (ESI) available, assessable, and in a format that can be easily and quickly analyzed? Are there ways to resolve the individual complaint, either before filing responsive pleadings or by way of negotiation with plaintiffs’ counsel? Could early concessions or a voluntary change to a challenged practice moot the litigation, or lead to an argument by plaintiff’s counsel that they are entitled to attorneys’ fees if corporate changes are made? Once the parties are at issue in the litigation, another series of strategic decisions needs to be confronted. Should the company request a stay of discovery while the court is considering a motion to dismiss? Should the defendant agree to broader discovery in the hope of demonstrating the presence of individualized issues to set up its class certification defenses? How broadly should discovery be drafted and what type of agreement on ESI is appropriate? Can the defendant make predominance arguments regarding varying facts without allowing broad discovery on those facts? Is bifurcation of discovery between merits issues and class issues still a viable option after Rule 23 case law has made clear that merits issues can overlap with the elements of class certification? Are communications allowed with class members before and/or after certification and on what terms? Is the list of class members discoverable? Is discovery allowed from absent class members and, if so, in what forms? Can and should a corporate defendant move for summary judgment before class certification (as to the named plaintiffs’ claims individually or as to all class claims)? Are there advantages even if the motion will not win the case (for instance, narrowing the case, causing the plaintiff to respond in an individualized way, etc.)? As to the future opposition to the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification, can the class definition be attacked because it includes uninjured class members? Further, it is rare that a motion for class certification is filed without an accompanying expert witness report. Likewise, virtually every opposition brief uses expert testimony. When should a defense expert be retained, on what subjects, and how should they plan their

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