When Is The Proper Time To Challenge Standing In Class Actions? New Jersey Says To Wait Until Class Certification.

On Monday, a New Jersey federal judge denied a motion to dismiss for lack of standing in a deceptive marketing class action in which the named plaintiffs had not purchased a number of the named products. This decision effectively held that, in a class action, the appropriate time to analyze standing is at the class certification stage, not at the Rule 12 stage. In In re L'Oreal Wrinkle Cream Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, Civ. No. 2:12 – 03571 (WJM), 2013 WL 6450701 (D.N.J. Dec. 9, 2013), plaintiffs alleged that L'Oreal used false, misleading, and deceptive marketing for a number of products in its anti-wrinkle cream line. The popular cosmetic company contested the plaintiffs' standing because they did not actually purchase every product named in the suit.