BarbriSFCourseDetails
  1. keyboard_arrow_leftBack

Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Class Action and Other Litigation

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, May 9, 2024

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will examine limited issue certification under Rule 23(c)(4) and how narrowly or broadly different circuits interpret that rule. The panel will provide instruction on considerations and strategies for litigating certification under Rule 23(c)(4) based on recent case law and their own practical experiences.

Faculty

Douglas J. McNamara
Partner
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

McNamara litigates complex, multi-state class action lawsuits against manufacturers and consumer service providers such as banks, insurers, credit card companies and others. As a tireless advocate for consumers, he has worked on numerous cases involving data breaches, dangerous pharmaceuticals and medical devices, light cigarettes, defective consumer products, and environmental torts. Mr. McNamara has been involved in precedent-setting cases that tackled issues of preemption, choice of law, and class certification. He is a hands-on litigator who takes pleasure in the details, facts, and documents of each case. Prior to joining Cohen Milstein in 2001, Mr. McNamara was a litigation associate at an international defense firm, specializing in pharmaceutical and product liability cases. He started his career at New York City’s Legal Aid Society, defending indigent criminal defendants at trial and on appeal. 

expand_circle_down Expand to View Full Bio expand_circle_up Collapse Bio
Michael Hamburger
Partner
White & Case LLP

Mr. Hamburger is a trial lawyer in White & Case's Americas Competition group. He has substantial experience with both civil and criminal antitrust matters. Mr. Hamburger's career has been devoted to defending companies in multi-jurisdictional cartel litigation, including at trial and on appeal, as part of White & Case's Band 1 (Chambers USA) cartel practice. He has been a key part of White & Case trial teams in some of the largest antitrust cases of the past decade, resulting in a string of successes that earned White & Case recognition by Law360 as Competition Group of the Year for an unprecedented six years in a row. In addition to representing companies in numerous industries during litigation (pharmaceuticals, healthcare, manufacturing, electronics), Mr. Hamburger has also advised companies on obtaining antitrust clearance from domestic and foreign regulatory authorities for mergers and acquisitions.

expand_circle_down Expand to View Full Bio expand_circle_up Collapse Bio

Description

Proposed class actions seeking monetary damages are often difficult to certify because common issues do not predominate over individualized issues as required by Rule 23(b)(3). Rule 23(c)(4) provides that "[w]hen appropriate, an action may be brought or maintained as a class action with respect to particular issues."

Although Rule 23(c)(4) has been part of the rule since the landmark 1966 amendments, it was often overlooked until the Supreme Court's decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes. Plaintiffs now routinely seek limited issue certification for purported common issues, such as liability, arguing that questions of injury, reliance, or causation should be left for individual cases. When approved, this approach increases defendants' exposure by permitting certification in some cases that would otherwise fail the Rule 23(b)(3) standards.

The federal circuits continue to be split on how issue certification should be treated under Rule 23(b)(3)'s predominance requirement. Litigants continue to seek guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court without success.

Listen as our panel of experienced class action litigators analyzes the varying circuit court positions on Rule 23(c)(4) issue classes and the implications of practitioners' decisions when pursuing or opposing class certification.

Outline

  1. The emergence of issue classes under Rule 23(c)(4)
    1. What is an issue class?
    2. How are they being strategically used?
    3. Where are the grey areas?
  2. Key court decisions on issue class certification
  3. Textual and historical analysis of Rule 23(c)(4)
  4. Litigating "issue" classes

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What is the tension between the requirements of Rule 23(c)(4) and Rule 23 (b)(3), and how are courts reconciling the conflict?
  • What impact does the rise in issue class certifications have on the trial and settlement of class claims?
  • How class action practitioners leverage the various circuit court opinions on Rule 23(c)(4) issue classes at the certification stage