Evolving Use of Experts in Class Certification Proceedings

Prior to the Seventh Circuit’s landmark 2010 decision in American Honda Motor Co. v. Allen, federal courts applied varying standards to the admissibility of expert reports at the class certification stage, say attorneys Joel S. Feldman, Christopher M. Assise, and Laura Bayard in this BNA Insight. In addition to examining the disparate ways courts assessed expert testimony in certification proceedings before American Honda, the authors analyze the seminal ruling, and place it in the context of ‘‘a growing movement among federal courts to apply more exacting evidentiary and burden of proof standards to plaintiffs’ requests for class certification.’’

Reproduced with permission from Class Action Litigation Report, 12 CLASS 569, 06/24/2011. Copyright 2011 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372- 1033) http://www.bna.com