On remand from the Seventh Circuit, a federal district court in Illinois granted class certification in a case where participants in a Boeing 401(k) plan alleged that Boeing breached its fiduciary duties under ERISA by: (i) causing the plan to pay excessive administrative fees; (ii) failing to disclose material information regarding administrative fees; and (iii)
Class Certification
View From Proskauer: U.S. Supreme Court Provides Defendants With More Ammunition for Defeating Class Certification by Requiring Classwide Proof of Damages
By Jacklina Len on
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 2013 WL 1222646 (U.S. Mar. 27, 2013) that, in order to obtain class certification, plaintiffs carry the burden of establishing not only that they have proof of classwide liability, but also that their potential damages are tied to their theory of liability and capable of classwide proof. The Court’s ruling follows on the heels of its ruling in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), in which it suggested that the admissibility standard for expert evidence outlined in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), should apply at the class certification stage. Instead of ruling on the Daubert issue, the Court provided what could prove to be an even more effective means for defeating class certification.