motion to strike class allegations

Win or lose, class actions that make it past the pleadings threaten businesses with enormous defense costs, especially the costs associated with class-wide discovery. As we’ve discussed before on this blog, one powerful tool for defendants to avoid these costs is to file an early motion to strike class allegations, taking a shot at nipping the class action in the bud when it is apparent from the pleadings that a class cannot be certified.

We were therefore pleased to see the Fifth Circuit recently join the growing ranks of courts that have endorsed pre-discovery motions to strike class allegations. In Elson v. Black, 56 F.4th 1002 (5th Cir. 2023), the court affirmed the district court’s order striking plaintiffs’ class allegations in their entirety. (The court also affirmed in large part the dismissal of the individual plaintiffs’ claims.)        Continue Reading Fifth Circuit affirms striking class allegations at the pleadings stage

One of the reasons that companies hate class actions is that, win or lose, the defense costs are often enormous. Usually, it’s discovery that leads to eye-popping numbers on the bills—whether from law firms themselves, contract attorneys, or e-discovery vendors. But defendants have an often overlooked tool for attempting to avoid costs related to discovery—the pre-discovery motion to strike class allegations.

My recent article, Control Class Action Costs by Filing an Early Motion to Strike the Class Allegations (pdf), explains the authority for such motions and the types of arguments that tend to work best for attacking the class allegations
Continue Reading Nip A Class Action In The Bud By Moving To Strike the Class Allegations

Here’s the situation: You’re facing a class action in federal court in which the plaintiffs define the putative class so broadly as to encompass many people who weren’t injured by the alleged wrongdoing. For example, consider a false-advertising class action on behalf of “all purchasers” of a product that the vast majority of purchasers would have used without any problem whatsoever, meaning that the alleged rarely occurring (or entirely hypothetical) defect that the defendant failed to disclose makes no difference to them. What’s the best way to attack this weakness in the complaint?

One option would be to characterize the
Continue Reading Do the Plaintiffs Lack Standing or Are Their Claims Simply Meritless—or Both?

We’re big fans of filing an early motion to strike class allegations when it’s apparent from the pleadings that the class definition is fatally flawed. Why should a defendant be forced to submit to the wringer of class discovery before taking a swing at defeating class certification? A recent case involving Office Depot illustrates the successful use of that strategy.

In Lindsay Transmission LLC v. Office Depot Inc. (pdf) (E.D. Mo.), the plaintiff alleged that an Office Depot store had faxed him an advertisement in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The complaint demanded statutory damages on behalf
Continue Reading Federal Court Grants Motion to Strike Class Allegations in TCPA Case

In litigation—as in war—it is natural to focus on winning today’s skirmish and to defer planning for battles that might not happen for weeks or months.  But that shortsightedness can lead to strategic blunders—as one class action plaintiff suing Capital One Bank and credit counseling agency InCharge Debt Solutions recently learned the hard way.

In King v. Capital One Bank (USA), N.A. (pdf) (W.D. Va.), the plaintiff, who had asked InCharge to help her with a debt-management plan for some debts she owed to Capital One, alleged that (among other things) the two companies had a hidden relationship that violated

Continue Reading Class Action Plaintiffs Can’t Have It Both Ways When Opposing Motions to Compel Arbitration