About the Course
Introduction
This CLE webinar will discuss establishing or challenging Rule 23's predominance requirement in a proposed national or multistate class action invoking laws of multiple states involving claims such as consumer protection, fraud, products liability, mass tort, or warranty claims.
Description
When the named plaintiffs invoke the laws of their own jurisdictions, but the case will require applying the laws of other states to the claims of other class members, certification of a class alleging consumer protection, mass tort, or warranty claims is especially challenging. These cases often require courts to confront whether variations in state law, proof of causation, reliance, injury, damages, or available defenses create individualized issues that defeat predominance.
In these cases, defendants usually contend that plaintiffs cannot demonstrate predominance under Rule 23, especially if reliance or inducement is an issue. Plaintiffs, in turn, often argue that common evidence, subclasses, grouping of materially similar state laws, or other trial-management tools can address state-law variations and individualized questions.
Both plaintiffs and defendants in these types of cases will want to carefully analyze the elements of each claim, burdens of proof, burden shifting, available defenses, remedies, and causation standards under the laws of each applicable jurisdiction. Plaintiffs will want to propose solutions for dealing with individual issues, while defendants will want to show why individual issues prevent certification. The parties also must address a threshold choice-of-law question: whether one state’s law can govern the entire class, or whether the laws of multiple states must be applied.
Listen as this panel of class action experts discusses the viability of class certification for multistate class actions, choice of law issues, and the meaning of Rule 23's predominance requirement in cases involving materially different state-law claims.
Presented By
Mr. Chorba has had substantial experience litigating a broad range of complex commercial matters at the trial and appellate level in California and throughout the country, with an emphasis on claims involving California’s Unfair Competition and False Advertising Laws (Business & Professions Code § 17200 and § 17500), the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (California Civil Code § 1750 et seq.), the Lanham Act, and the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005. His litigation and counseling experience includes work for companies in the automotive, consumer products, entertainment, financial services, food and beverage, social media, technology, telecommunications, insurance, health care, retail, and utility industries.
Mr. Ruttinger develops and implements strategies for clients in class action, commercial and complex litigation across the country. He advises and advocates for clients at all phases of a case, from pre-litigation consulting on regulatory issues, to dispositive and class-certification motions, to appeals. Mr. Ruttinger regularly handles complicated, high-stakes issues for clients ranging from challenges to class certification to developing strategies for seeking summary judgment and excluding unreliable expert opinions. He is a frequent writer and speaker on the application of class action and product liability laws to emerging technologies.
Mr. Schwartzbaum is the Founder and Managing Partner of Schwartzbaum, P.A., a boutique plaintiff-side litigation firm dedicated to prosecuting complex class actions and high-impact consumer cases nationwide. He founded the firm to pursue sophisticated, large-scale matters with greater strategic focus, agility, and long-term vision. Mr. Schwartzbaum leads cases from investigation and case architecture through certification, dispositive motion practice, settlement, and appeal. Over the course of his career, he has helped recover over $1.9 billion for his clients. Mr. Schwartzbaum has been appointed class counsel in numerous matters and has played a leadership role in class actions and mass arbitrations across the country. His experience spans every stage of complex litigation, including high-stakes negotiations and appellate advocacy.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Date + Time
- event
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
- schedule
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
I. Types of claims
II. Defining predominance
III. Choice-of-law principles affecting whether one state’s law, or multiple states’ laws, apply
IV. Material variations among state laws and their impact on predominance
V. Managing multistate variations through subclasses, groupings, or trial plans
VI. Recent cases
The panel will review these and other important issues:
- How have different courts defined what it means for class or common issues to "predominate" over individual issues?
- How do plaintiffs overcome the individualized nature of representations, reliance, causation, injury, or damages?
- What makes a law or statute in one state "materially" different than those in another?
- When can plaintiffs rely on one state’s law for a nationwide or multistate class?
- How can defendants use state-law variations to oppose certification?
- What role do subclasses and state-law groupings play in the predominance analysis?
Related Courses
Beyond Predominance: Alternative Arguments Against Class Certification
Available On-Demand
Class Certification: Navigating Scrutiny of Expert Methodologies for Classwide Damages Models
Thursday, September 10, 2026
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
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