The certification of a class is arguably the most critical juncture in a class action lawsuit. Over the past several years, the requirements for class certification have been evolving. Plaintiffs’ class allegations continue to face heightened scrutiny at the certification stage. In 2015, Pennsylvania’s federal courts frequently addressed the appropriate scope and application of the requirements of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23. This year-in-review discusses notable opinions from the court of appeals and district courts. Pennsylvania’s state courts also issued several opinions addressing the requirements of Rule 1702, which this review also discusses.
Scrutiny of Expert Testimony
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated certification of a class of buyers of reagents used in blood tests in In re Blood Reagents Antitrust Litigation, 783 F.3d 183 (3d Cir. 2015), because, post-Comcast, a plaintiff cannot rely on challenged expert testimony to satisfy Rule 23 requirements unless the expert testimony satisfies the Daubert standard. The district court had found that the plaintiffs’ expert evidence for their antitrust impact analysis and damages model “could evolve” to become admissible evidence satisfying Rule 23. The Third Circuit found that the “could evolve” standard could not be reconciled with the Supreme Court’s requirement of “rigorous analysis” at the class certification stage. On remand, the district court recertified the class and found that the methodologies for calculating classwide damages put forth by the plaintiffs’ expert survived Daubert. Nonetheless, the law of the Third Circuit is now in line with various other circuits in requiring that challenges to expert evidence proffered to meet Rule 23 requirements must pass Daubert analysis for a class to be certified by the district court.
Predominance as to Damages
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
