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CLASS ACTIONS

If you are the target of a class action, you know that how you respond and the ultimate result can dramatically affect your company’s reputation or even its survival. There’s so much at stake that the attorneys you select for your defense will make a tremendous difference in the outcome.

The stakes are high in class actions. The lawyers you select can make all the difference.

Buchanan’s class action defense lawyers thoroughly understand the nuances and strategies associated with managing multi-district litigation, governmental and regulatory proceedings, and the impact on these cases on your business. We are highly experienced in both the procedural rules and substantive law that apply in class action cases, and we take an aggressive approach to defending your case, consistent with your company’s ultimate goals.

Buchanan attorneys have litigated class actions in a wide range of contexts. For example, we have defended clients against:

  • Consumer fraud and false advertising claims.
  • Employment-related claims, such as FLSA collective actions, systemic employment discrimination claims and ERISA.
  • Antitrust claims brought by direct and indirect purchasers.
  • Claims by terminated dealers, distributors and sales agents.
  • Securities class actions.
  • Claims related to banking and credit card practices.

Your Class Action Defense

It’s important to assemble the right team of attorneys to handle your class action defense, given its specific circumstances. Our attorneys understand both the procedural aspects of class action defense and the substantive law, as do our paralegals and project assistants. 

As we develop your case with you, we may find ways to resolve it before certification and trial. But from the very beginning we are prepared to take the case to trial if together we determine that course of action to be the most appropriate.

Strategic analysis. When defending your case, our thorough analysis lets us determine whether the complaint can be dismissed at the responsive pleading stage, which can avoid extensive discovery.

Defeating class certification. The primary goal of class action defense is to defeat class certification or, at the least, to reduce the size of the class. Defeating class certification often can be the means to limit discovery, obtain defense judgment on the merits, or obtain favorable settlement. 

Managing discovery. During discovery, we have the ability to respond to extensive discovery requests and use sophisticated technology to manage large scale document production and management. In many cases, however, the goal is to limit discovery by various available means.

Dispositive motions. It is often to a client’s advantage to move early for summary judgment. Therefore, part of defense strategy may involve determining whether a summary judgment motion is likely to succeed on the named plaintiff’s claims before class certification and class discovery.

Trial. Most class actions are resolved at the class certification stage, either upon dispositive motion or settled after determination of the class. However, our attorneys cannot be coerced by opposing counsel into settlement by threat of jury trial. We conduct witness preparation, document preparation, depositions and the rest of pretrial administration not just with an eye toward class certification or summary judgment, but also with an eye toward trial. If the case results in trial, we are there to win.