Challenging the Class and Plaintiffs Representative Cases

It is absolutely possible to defeat a class action lawsuit in California.  Generally speaking the class action defense strategies at the Watkins Firm in San Diego are designed to prevent the certification of the class.  The legal requirements for establishing a valid class provide several opportunities to challenge the plaintiff’s case seeking either a very favorable settlement or an outright dismissal for our clients.

Our seasoned litigation team works to identify differences in the plaintiff’s representative cases and in the class in general.  We work to demonstrate that the experiences of the individuals were different and therefore a class cannot exist.  We work to show that the unique circumstances surrounding the use of a product or service is different in each individual application, and that some claims in the class are quite different than others.  In many cases, plaintiffs attorneys are in such a hurry to attract representative cases and get a class action filed they miss critical differentiation in the representative cases that are supposed to serve as examples for everyone in the class.

We staunchly defend our clients and limit exposure to plaintiff fishing expeditions and exhaustive discovery motions.  We assemble a powerful team to support your defense including expert witnesses and financial professionals to refute allegations, challenge class certification and ultimately seek the dismissal of the case itself.

Fighting Damage Models and Damages Calculations

The San Diego class action defense attorneys at the Watkins Firm employ multiple class action defense strategies in the defense of our clients.  Part of our strategy will often involve aggressively challenging plaintiff’s damages models and damages calculations.

In order for a class to be certified the plaintiffs must demonstrate that damages can be awarded on a class-wide basis.  In many class actions the plaintiffs received some value from the food & supplements, products or services in question.  The process for identifying damages must reflect the financial value of the benefit(s) received, unless the action is based upon the product or service’s complete failure in their stated purpose.

The damages often must be related to alleged misrepresentation in either the product’s advertising or labeling.  Each strategy for modeling damages provides extensive opportunities for a rigorous defense.  Damage Modeling strategies include but are not limited to:

  • Benefit of the Bargain
  • Statutory Damages
  • Full Refund
  • Price Premium Model
  • Regression
  • Survey Damages
  • Disgorgement of Profits
  • Injunctive Relief

Whether the plaintiff pursues a specific damage model or formula is applied to calculate damages our attorneys and experts work to discredit the strategy so that damages cannot be awarded on a class-wide basis.

Contact Experienced San Diego Class Action Defense Lawyers

If your business faces the risk of a class action lawsuit you need proven class action defense strategies and the experienced attorneys at the Watkins Firm.  We invite you to contact us, or call 858-535-1511 to discuss your case with one of our seasoned lawyers.  Learn more about the aggressive strategies we will develop and deploy to protect your interests and our unique approach to litigation which is designed to resolve difficult matters as quickly and efficiently as possible.