Which Comes First Standing Or Class Certification? Northern District Of Illinois Weighs In

The Northern District of Illinois recently waded into the conflict between standing and class certification when it held that a putative class representative must demonstrate standing to assert each claim before the motion for class certification. In the case, plaintiff Michael Muir filed a putative class action against herbal supplement manufacturer Nature's Bounty for claims related to an alleged misrepresentation regarding an ingredient's prevalence in the supplement. Muir proposed three distinct classes: (1) a nationwide class of every consumer who had purchased the supplement within the last four years; (2) purchasers in states with similar consumer fraud statutes allegedly violated by the misrepresentation; and (3) Illinois purchasers of the supplement. The court dismissed the proposed nationwide and multi-state consumer classes.