Seventh Circuit Confirms that District Courts Must Resolve Daubert Objections to Class Certification Experts Before Ruling on Motion to Certify Clas

Originally published April 12, 2010

Keywords: American Honda Motor Co. v. Allen, class actions, class certification experts, products liability, design defect, motion to strike, Daubert

In a ruling that is likely to have a significant impact on all types of class-action lawsuits, in American Honda Motor Co. v. Allen, No. 09-8051, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated an order certifying a class action because the district court had not ruled on the merits of the defendant's motion to strike the report of the plaintiff's class certification expert. The Seventh Circuit held that when an expert's testimony is critical to class certification, a district court must adjudicate any challenge to the expert's qualifications or submissions—including a challenge to the reliability of the expert's methodology under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993)—before resolving the motion for class certification.