Class Certification Case Law Updates

The past year has seen several cases delve into the role that both representative evidence and uninjured class members play in determining whether predominance has been satisfied within the broader class certification analysis. In this installment of client alerts focused on class certification, we discuss some of the noteworthy developments within these cases below.

Representative Evidence-or the Lack Thereof

Several recent cases have reconsidered the role of representative evidence in their class certification analyses, and in what circumstances it is sufficient to show predominance. Most notably, the Third Circuit in In re: Lamictal Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litigation¹ strongly affirmed the rule that outside of a Fair Labor Standards Act case (such as in Tyson Foods²) where representative evidence is the only way to show liability, plaintiffs must still demonstrate that their claims are capable of common proof at trial by a preponderance of the evidence.