Class Action

Proven experience, client focus and winning results are the hallmark of Alston & Bird’s multidisciplinary, multioffice class action practice.  Our attorneys defend all variety of class actions, including antitrust, consumer fraud, ERISA, employment, environmental/mass tort, product defect and warranty, RICO and securities and have done so in more than 28 states within the past three years alone.  We routinely litigate against and defeat renowned plaintiffs’ firms and in some of the more plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions, including Madison County, Los Angeles and South Florida.  

EXPERIENCE

• Defended or are currently defending Safeco in more than 30 putative policyholder class action lawsuits in 14 states involving a host of insurance-related issues, including:  original equipment manufacturer parts vs. after market parts litigation, diminished value litigation, total loss litigation, installment service fee litigation, credit scoring litigation/Fair Credit Reporting Act, insured to value/replacement costs litigation, extended PIP coverage litigation, variable commissions litigation, medical payment litigation, Colossus litigation, and hurricane coverage litigation.  We currently have a case pending in the United States Supreme Court for Safeco in which the Court is determining whether our client willfully violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by using consumer reports in underwriting and failing to give notice of adverse action. In the course of Alston & Bird’s eight-year relationship with Safeco, only one class has been certified.  That class was limited to two states, and that was only after Alston & Bird was successful in getting the court to reject certification of a proposed 44-state class and a proposed 7-state class.  Alston & Bird was then able to negotiate an extremely favorable settlement for the Safeco, reducing a potential nine figure exposure to a six figure amount.
• Represented or currently representing Nokia in class actions brought in states ranging from California to Illinois to New York. Most recently, we defeated class certification for Nokia in a putative class action brought in Colorado state court alleging product defect claims.  We also obtained dismissal or summary judgment in putative class actions brought against Nokia in three cases in California and additional cases in  Minnesota and New York.
• Represented or currently represent T-Mobile USA in consumer class actions brought in states across the country, including Alabama, California, Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Washington.  In the past several years, we have obtained dismissal of class actions for T-Mobile – early in the litigation and before discovery – in six cases, including some big wins in South Florida, Alabama and Texas.

CLIENT FOCUS AND WINNING RESULTS

Our years of experience have accustomed us to the “bet-the-company” pressure created in national class actions.  We are well-acquainted with the latest legal theories, discovery tactics, class experts, and certification strategies of the plaintiffs’ bar and draw upon an established network of local counsel and defense experts.  We have perfected a number of defense strategies, including removal to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act, utilization of arbitration clauses to defeat class certification, management of electronic discovery, development of a factual record to defeat the class representative’s individual claim pre-certification, and striking class expert testimony under Daubert and Frye.  In addition, we are skilled at resolving class actions in a manner that provides global resolution for clients while minimizing the cost of settlement.  We recently settled a nationwide consumer class action in California for a major consumer services company on a claims made basis, using e-mailed notice, no publication notice and a five-figure cap on plaintiff's attorneys' fees.        

RECOGNITION

The attorneys who practice in the area of class action include four Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a past chair of the American Bar Association's Section of Antitrust Law. Our attorneys have published articles in BNA’s Class Action Litigation Report, Andrew’s Class Action Reporter, the ACC Docket, and the Wall Street Lawyer. We have been featured speakers at such events as the American Conference Institute’s National In-House Counsel Conference on Defending and Managing Complex Litigation, the ABA’s National Institute on Class Action and the State Bar of Georgia’s Continuing Legal Education Seminar on Class Actions.

WHY ALSTON & BIRD?

Alston & Bird’s litigators have perfected a number of effective defense strategies to win class actions through change of venue, removal to federal court, early motions practice, striking of class experts, defeating motions for class certification, summary judgment, trial and appeal.  We also use our insight and knowledge of plaintiffs’ tactics and strategies to assist our clients in litigation avoidance and limitation of liability.  We partner with our clients and provide early case assessment and continuing analysis at every stage of the litigation.  Whether you are looking for a creative resolution through settlement or an aggressive defense through appeal, our class action lawyers help clients to achieve their desired outcome.