In our first post of 2015, we wanted to congratulate our colleague and mentor, Evan Tager, for his recent recognition as a Litigation Trailblazer and Pioneer by the National Law Journal.

Evan has been at the forefront of major developments in the law—including those affecting class action and mass tort litigation.  As this profile notes, Evan has been a leader on at least two major issues.  First, he helped convince courts of the need for due process limitations on excessive punitive damages awards, ultimately prevailing in BMW of North America v. Gore.  And second—working with us and others
Continue Reading Congratulations to “Litigation Trailblazer and Pioneer” Evan Tager

According to an interesting student note that will soon be published in the Stanford Law Review, the answer to both questions is “yes.” Specifically, the would-be class counsel must “protect[] the substantive legal rights of putative class members . . . from prejudice” “resulting from the actions of class counsel.”

The implications for defendants opposing class certification are significant: If the plaintiff’s lawyers have prejudiced the rights of absent class members, then they have demonstrated that they will not “fairly and adequate protect the interests of the class,” as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)(4). And
Continue Reading Do Class Counsel Owe Fiduciary Duties to Absent Class Members Before Class Certification (and Should Defendants Care)?

The first step in defending a class action filed in state court is to check whether it may be removed to federal court. To some, removal may seem hopeless if the plaintiff asserts only state-law claims and the amount of potential actual damages at stake appears to be well below the $5 million amount-in-controversy threshold of the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). But that’s not always the case—especially when the plaintiff also seeks punitive damages or attorneys’ fees. Federal courts have confirmed that those amounts should be included when determining whether the amount in controversy is at least $5 million,
Continue Reading District Court Confirms that Class Action Fairness Act Authorizes Removal when Request for Punitive Damages Causes Amount in Controversy to Exceed $5 Million