According to the 2019 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey, affirmative claim requirements remain the most widely used condition of class action settlements. Nearly 79% of companies required an affirmative claim for payment as a class action settlement condition in 2018, a percentage that has incrementally, but steadily, increased over the last several years. Companies also were more likely in 2018 to differentiate among categories of class members, require a showing of ... Keep Reading »
Class Action Survey: What is the Role of Outside Counsel in Early Case Assessment? Nearly 75% of Counsel Rely on Outside Counsel to Help Them With This One Task
More than 90% of companies continue to rely heavily on early case assessment with the help of outside counsel to contain costs and manage class action risk. As companies see an increase in the volume of class action matters and related exposure, they lean on outside counsel for a variety of early case assessment tasks and planning. While many companies have routinely used outside counsel to assess case facts and exposure and develop strategy, in this year’s 2019 Carlton ... Keep Reading »
Class Action Survey: Settle Early or “Defend At All Costs”? Corporate Counsel Weigh in on Class Action Defense Strategies
With increased volume and exposure, more companies facing class actions are employing a case-by-case approach to formulate their defense strategy. In 2018, a majority of companies — 53.2% — assessed each class action separately to defend “at the right cost.” This is up from 39.6% of companies in 2017. Only 10.6% say they prefer to settle such matters early, while 21.3% take an aggressive stance and 14.9% employ a “defend at all costs” strategy. ... Keep Reading »
High School Female Athletes Face Hurdles to Class Certification
The U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii recently denied female student-athletes’ motion for class certification under Title IX even though it rejected the defendants’ attacks on mootness and standing as well as Rule 23(a)’s requirements for commonality, typicality, and adequacy. Instead, the court found that the proposed class failed to satisfy the numerosity requirement that joinder would be impracticable. The underlying case centered on Title IX ... Keep Reading »
Class Action Survey: Defense Cost is the Least Important Risk Variable Corporate Counsel Consider When Evaluating Risk. What is the Most Important Risk Variable?
Companies identified exposure as the most important variable they consider when evaluating class action risk. Exposure ranked as 8.9 on a 1–10 scale of importance. Win probability, relevant case law and facts, and reputational impact also were ranked as important risk variables, but less significant than exposure. Defense cost is the least important variable when assessing class action risk, at a rating of 6.1 out of 10. These rankings reflect little change from the 2017 ... Keep Reading »
Class Action Survey: What Percentage of Companies Have Their Class Action Defense Costs Covered by Insurance?
According to the 2019 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey, 39.5% of companies had a portion of their class action defense costs covered by insurance in 2018, which is unchanged from the prior year. Twenty-four percent of companies with insurance have full coverage outside the cost of self-retention. ... Keep Reading »
Not So Fast! A Class Action Is Not an Appropriate Vehicle to Avoid Your Speeding Ticket
A federal court in Massachusetts recently denied class status for a group of individuals caught driving in the fast lane. Finding that the named plaintiff failed to demonstrate typicality and predominance, the District of Massachusetts denied certification of a class of plaintiffs who received speeding tickets under a Massachusetts regulation. The plaintiff alleged that the Board of Selectmen of Hingham, Massachusetts, posted and enforced speed limit signs without ... Keep Reading »
Eleventh Circuit Takes Life Insurance Reinstatement Claims at Face Value for CAFA Amount-In-Controversy Purposes
The Eleventh Circuit recently examined the application of the $5 million amount-in-controversy requirement under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) to disputes over life insurance premiums and policies. It concluded that the face value of a surrendered or lapsed life insurance policy constitutes the amount placed in controversy when the plaintiff requests reinstatement of the policy as equitable relief for asserted claims. In Anderson v. Wilco Life Insurance Co., ... Keep Reading »
Class Action Survey: Did Class Action Defense Spending in 2018 Continue its Upward Trend?
Class action spending increased for a fourth consecutive year, to $2.46 billion in 2018, accounting for 11.1% of all litigation spending in the United States, according to the 2019 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey. While the number of companies that reported facing class actions in 2018 dropped slightly to 54%, the average number of matters per company increased from 6.3 in 2017 to 7.8 in 2018. Corporate spending on class actions increased nearly 10% in 2018. Spending ... Keep Reading »
Class Action Survey: What do Corporate Counsel Predict as the “Next Wave” of Class Actions? Data Privacy and Security? TCPA? Antitrust? Wage and Hour?
More than half of legal decision-makers responsible for class actions believe data privacy and security will be the next wave of class actions, up from less than 30% in 2017. Most companies, however, have not faced a data privacy and security class action, and express moderate concern about facing one in the future. A large majority report that their company has an action plan in place to handle a data breach. According to the 2019 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey, the ... Keep Reading »
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