Takeaway: Class actions present
significant risk, because a certified class exposes a class
defendant to class-wide liability. Most defendants agree to
settle rather than face the risk of a class verdict. But
sometimes a class defendant will roll the dice, hoping it will
prevail either at trial or on appeal. In a recent case,
Bahamas Surgery Center, LLC v. Kimberly-Clark Corporation,
--- Fed.Appx. ---, Nos. 18-55478, No. 18-55483, & No. 18-55558,
2020 WL 4218313 (9th Cir. July 23, 2020), the class defendants did
just that. Although the district court entered judgment
against the class defendants in the amount of $24 million, they
were ultimately saved on appeal by a split panel of the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals.
