ROBERT SCARBOROUGH has successfully defended more than 150 consumer class actions on behalf of insurance and financial services clients, as well as Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries, based on claims arising under federal and state consumer protection laws, state insurance laws and federal antitrust laws.
Bob is a senior litigator and partner in Sidley’s Insurance and Financial Services group, and has been representing insurance companies for over 20 years in class actions involving all aspects of their business, including underwriting, regulatory compliance, sales and marketing, premiums and rates, and claims-handling and payment practices. Bob also advises clients on privacy and cybersecurity matters. He also advises the firm’s Office of General Counsel on privacy and cybersecurity matters.
He has extensive experience with multi-district litigation, and has defended class actions in federal and state courts across the country, including Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. He has also successfully handled and argued numerous appeals in both state and federal appellate courts.
Bob has spoken at industry, bar and client conferences on class action strategy, the Class Action Fairness Act, and arbitration and federal jurisdiction, and is a member of the firm’s Professional Risk Management Committee.
EXPERIENCE
Recent Achievements:
- Defeated an emergency TRO in a lawsuit seeking to certify a nationwide privacy class action.
- Prevailed on motions to dismiss in several lawsuits challenging an insurance carrier’s Medicare reimbursement practices.
- Prevailed on motion to dismiss with prejudice in a putative class action challenging an insurance carrier’s claims-handling practices.
- Defeated motion to certify a nationwide class in an antitrust action filed under Section 2 of the Sherman Act.
- Defeated motion to certify a nationwide class against a Fortune 500 manufacturing company.
- Successfully challenged plaintiff’s economist after three-day Daubert hearing and ultimately prevailed on summary judgment in antitrust action brought pursuant to Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.
- Prevailed on motions to dismiss and summary judgment in multiple, related putative class actions filed in over a dozen federal courts.
- Prevailed in the Seventh Circuit in breach of privacy action.
- Prevailed in a five-week antitrust class action trial in the SDNY.
- Decertified a nationwide class in one of the largest then-pending MDLs.
- Defeated plaintiffs’ motion before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to centralize 10 separate actions challenging an insurance carrier’s claims-handling practices. The JPML agreed and denied plaintiffs’ motion to centralize.
Other Notable Engagements:
- Served as national class counsel for two insurance carriers.
- Defeated class certification or obtained dismissals in more than 30 class actions filed against several insurance carriers over the past decade, including a dismissal of a class action on the eve of trial.
- For past 20 years, served as lead national class counsel for an international consumer services company in multiple class actions filed in federal and state courts. Defeated class certification or obtained dismissal in each one.
- Successfully defeated class certification in a private arbitration proceeding in one of the first such decisions issued under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association.