Discovery Strategies in Wage and Hour Class and Collective Actions Before and After Certification of Putative Class

February 15th, 2023|Categories: Emerging Issues Webinars, Featured On-Demand, HB Tort Notes, New Webinars, Tort Litigation, Tort Webinars|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Discovery Strategies in Wage and Hour Class and Collective Actions Before and After Certification of Putative Class Strategically Limiting Discovery, Resolving Discovery Disputes Wage and hour class and collective actions are complex and discovery intensive. Discovery requests are often burdensome, seeking information concerning a broad swath of workers. This causes the discovery process to sometimes linger for years and creates a significant expense for employers.In recent years, courts have emphasized that parties must rein in extensive and expensive discovery requests. Employment litigators are increasingly raising proportionality arguments as a basis for objecting to opposing counsel's discovery requests. Drafters are responding by tailoring requests to anticipate such challenges. Drafting discovery requests that are likely to withstand burden and proportionality challenges and objections to broad discovery requests is critical for litigators representing employers in wage and hour class and collective actions. Employment litigators must develop and implement effective discovery strategies both before and, as applicable, after certification of the putative class. These strategies often must anticipate the possibility of a future summary judgment motion, further certification practice, and trial on the merits. Listen as our authoritative panel of employment law attorneys explains effective strategies for pursuing or objecting to discovery requests in wage and hour collective and class actions and resolving discovery disputes that arise during litigation. Questions Addressed: What are the most common discovery [...]

Lost Profits in Commercial Litigation: Proving and Defending Damages

February 15th, 2023|Categories: Emerging Issues Webinars, Featured On-Demand, HB Tort Notes, New Webinars, Tort Litigation, Tort Webinars|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Lost Profits in Commercial Litigation: Proving and Defending Damages Leveraging Calculation Methodologies, Documentation, Expert Evidence, and Effect of COVID Lost profits are often the single most substantial aspect of the plaintiff's claim as well as one of the most contentious, challenging types of damages to prove and are particularly susceptible to attack.In the duel of experts over lost profits damages, both sides will want to analyze and present complex financial documentation as clearly and concisely as possible. Plaintiff's experts must put forth damages studies that are credible and can withstand cross examination from the opposition.In determining how best to counter the plaintiff's damages claim, defense counsel faces a delicate balancing act between defending against liability and discrediting the plaintiff's numbers as presented through a defense expert.Listen as our panel discusses the framework, bases, and aspects of lost profit damages calculations and how to prove or defend against lost profit damages. Outline Framework for lost profits damages Evidence/documentation Quantification of lost profits damages Presentation of lost profits damages Defending against lost profits damages A Strafford production specially selected for HB audiences. Derrick Boyd Founding Partner Boyd Powers Williamson Cameron Byrd Attorney Ahmad Zavitsanos Anaipakos Alavi & Mensing Dr. Allyn Needham, Ph.D., CEA Partner Shipp Needham Economic Analysis The panel will review these and other crucial issues: What evidence [...]

Daubert Motions in Construction Litigation: Standards for Expert Witnesses in Design and Defect Claims

February 1st, 2023|Categories: Emerging Issues Webinars, Featured On-Demand, HB Tort Notes, New Webinars, Tort Litigation, Tort Webinars|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Daubert Motions in Construction Litigation: Standards for Expert Witnesses in Design and Defect Claims Raising or Defending Daubert Challenges to Admitting Expert Testimony In most construction suits, both sides rely on experts to provide opinions and testimony supporting or against claims of liability and damages. Such expert testimony often involves determining fault for design and construction defects, schedule delays, and worker inefficiency. Expert opinion and testimony impact all parties in a construction dispute, including property owners, developers, financial institutions, design professionals, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and vendors.The Daubert/Frye ruling and the body of law on challenging expert opinions and testimony continue to evolve for construction disputes in both state and federal courts. Courts permit testing expert of testimony and an expert’s foundational methodology or technique to ensure that it is relevant and reliable.Listen as our panel of construction litigators discusses the applicability of the Daubert/Frye standards to the presentation of expert testimony in construction disputes, analyzes what is required to successfully raise or defend a challenge to the admission of expert testimony, and provides guidance for using experts in construction cases. Outline Dispositive motions in the Daubert hearing: the Daubert challenge Frye standards: how they differ from Daubert standards Application to construction cases Application to scheduling, construction defects, and damages Future impact of Daubert/Frye on construction claims Lessons from court rulings A Strafford production specially selected for HB audiences. [...]

Rule 23(c)(5) Subclasses: Certification, Due Process, Adequate Representation, and Settlement

February 1st, 2023|Categories: Emerging Issues Webinars, Featured On-Demand, HB Tort Notes, New Webinars, Tort Litigation, Tort Webinars|Tags: , , , , , |

Rule 23(c)(5) Subclasses: Certification, Due Process, Adequate Representation, and Settlement Plaintiffs can define and propose subclasses to address unique issues or to resolve potential intra-class conflicts of interest. Counsel opposing certification will want to emphasize the intra-class conflict as reason to deny certification and show how subclasses render class treatment unmanageable.Due process requires adequacy of representation for all class members, including subclasses. Circuit courts have overturned settlements if they see conflicts of interest among subclasses and the failure of class counsel to ensure independent representation of subclasses.Listen as this experienced panel of class action litigators guides both plaintiff and defense counsel through the effective use of subclasses to resolve the case. Outline Statutory basis of subclasses Types of cases and issues best suited for subclasses Resolving conflicts of interest among subclasses A Strafford production specially selected for HB audiences. Wystan Ackerman Partner Robinson & Cole James Francis Co-Founder Francis Mailman Soumilas Kristen Simplicio Partner Tycko & Zavareei The panel will review these and other key issues: What are the tell-tale signs that a subclass is needed or required? When can subclasses be created? Can there be subclasses within subclasses or is predominance destroyed? What are the due process concerns with subclasses and subclass representation? What should defense counsel consider when deciding whether to oppose certification of [...]

Modern Removal and Remand Strategies: Forum Defendant Rule; Snap Removal; Effect on Pleadings, Motion Practice

January 27th, 2023|Categories: Emerging Issues Webinars, Featured On-Demand, HB Tort Notes, New Webinars, Tort Litigation, Tort Webinars|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Modern Removal and Remand Strategies Forum Defendant Rule; Snap Removal; Effect on Pleadings, Motion Practice A defendant in a lawsuit filed in state court can "remove" the case to federal court if there is a diversity of citizenship, except if a "properly joined and served" defendant is a citizen of the forum state. With the advent of electronic filing, defendants now have instantaneous notice of suits and may remove the case before being served, thereby sidestepping the forum defendant rule. Although several U.S. Circuit Courts have approved the practice, a debate remains on whether this practice should be approved.Plaintiffs have their own toolbox to anticipate removal strategies and take preemptive actions to make removal difficult and remand likely. Since all parties can play the literal-reading-of-the-statute card, plaintiffs have seized on ways to bring the "real" parties into the dispute in such a way as to prevent removal.If the case comes to a stop in federal court after removal, the parties must be aware of how the change in forum impacts the rest of the case: deadlines, motions, pleadings, what must be answered, and what is stayed.Listen as this experienced panel of litigators discusses which removal and remand planning and strategies can make the most difference. Outline Statutory authority and procedural requirements Strategies for plaintiffs Avoiding federal question Avoiding diversity, pre- [...]

Greatly Exaggerated: The Impact of Bankruptcy on Mass Torts with Jennifer Hoekstra

January 12th, 2023|Categories: ELP, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

When large companies face massive mass tort litigation, one way they can survive is to file for bankruptcy protection and reorganize.  3M recently put its Aearo Technologies subsidiary into bankruptcy in the face of more than 230,000 claims that's its defective earplugs caused hearing loss.  When it came to filing bankruptcy 3M said Aearo was solely responsible for the product. But for several years of litigation 3M argued that it, as the parent, was solely responsible, not its various subsidiaries. That was a strategy that was beneficial to the company in multidistrict litigation. Why did 3M suddenly change course? What impact does bankruptcy have on claimants? Could corporations use bankruptcy law to neuter mass tort litigation for all eternity?  And how did the strategy sit with the federal magistrate judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation? Joining me to discuss this incredibly complex litigation is Jennifer M. Hoekstra, a partner with Aylstock Witkin Kreis & Overholtz. Jennifer has been involved in all varieties of complex litigation since 2007, focusing on mass torts, drug and device litigation, and others.  She has a J.D. from Tulane, which she earned while also completing a certificate in Environmental Law. She has actively served as trial counsel or an integral member of the trial team in several of the 3M Earplug trials securing nearly $300 million in compensatory damages [...]

Under Pressure: Courts and Lawyers Trying to Deal With It with Diana Manning

January 6th, 2023|Categories: ELP, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Emerging Law Notes, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The pressure on trial lawyers, judges, plaintiffs, defendants, and court systems is only increasing. The backlog of cases in New Jersey, for example, nearly quadrupled between February 2020 and 2021, the first year of the pandemic, according to NJ Spotlight News (NJSN). The state is also facing a historic shortage of jurists, NJSN reported, “leading to overworked judges, huge case backlogs and nearly 7,000 defendants in jail without bail, some 500 of them for more than two years despite a law that essentially requires a trial within two years for anyone detained." As reported by NJSN, one court official told the state Assembly Budget Committee about the impact of the pandemic on the court system: “Buildings were closed to most in-person trials for more than a year, although other proceedings continued virtually. The business closures and high unemployment led to a housing crisis that resulted in more than 46,000 pending cases that involve landlord-tenant issues . . . . But with all courts open and staff back to work in person, it is impossible to eliminate the backlog of cases with so many open judge seats.” The problem is attributed to the state Senate, where the process is mired, even though the governor is making appointments. According to the National Counsel for State Courts, backlogs at one third of [...]

Policy Derailed: Can U.S. Antitrust Policy Toward Standard Essential Patents Get Back on Track by Jonathan Rubin

January 4th, 2023|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Emerging Law Notes, Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, New Featured Post for Home Page|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

The Author Jonathan Rubin (jrubin@moginrubin.com) is Co-Founder and Partner of MoginRubin LLP, a boutique antitrust, mergers and acquisitions, and class action law firm. Since 2001, he has focused his legal practice exclusively on antitrust and competition law and policy. As a litigator he has led trial teams in major antitrust cases in courts throughout the country. Rubin is a member of the Editorial Board of Advisors for the Journal of Emerging Issues in Litigation. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. Policy Derailed: Can U.S. Antitrust Policy Toward Standard Essential Patents Get Back on Track? "The failure to appropriately adjust the patent system to accommodate the competitive circumstances created when patents are incorporated into standards undermines the purposes of the standard-setting enterprise and impairs the utility and proliferation of standardized technologies. Without a course correction among the judiciary, the United States risks finding itself as a less desirable jurisdiction for pro-growth and pro-competitive patenting and standard-setting activities." Abstract: A consensus at the intersection of patent and anti-trust law was achieved after a series of decisions finding that in some circumstances owners of standard essential patents (SEPs) have an antitrust duty to [...]

PFAS Consumer Fraud Litigation

January 4th, 2023|Categories: Emerging Issues Webinars, Emerging Litigation & Risk, Featured On-Demand, Tort Webinars, Torts-On-Demand-CLE|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

HB Litigation Conferences presents a CLE-eligible webinar PFAS Consumer Fraud Litigation and Regulation On August 26, 2022, yet another PFAS consumer fraud lawsuit was filed against a product manufacturer in which it is alleged that since the products contained PFAS and the company marketed the products as environmentally friendly and safe for use by consumers, a proposed class of consumers was deceived into buying the allegedly unsafe products. The lawsuit is not an isolated incident, as there have been over 20 such lawsuits, almost all of them filed in 2022. With the ever-increasing media, political and scientific attention being given to PFAS, the panelists predict that these lawsuits will continue to increase at an exponentially increasing rate moving forward against companies of all sizes that manufacture and supply products. Bringing together almost 20 years of product litigation experience and decades of scientific expertise in the field of chemicals such as PFAS, the panelists will discuss the legal issues that companies are facing from current or legacy uses of PFAS (whether intentional or not) and practical solutions that can be taken pre-lawsuit to understand and minimize risk.  Questions answered: What do state and federal regulations say about PFAS in drinking water? If your company doesn’t use the two original types of PFAS, are you at less risk of [...]

Lawyers for Good with Tara Trask and Jason Flom

December 22nd, 2022|Categories: ELP, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Emerging Law Notes, Podcasts|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

If you're feeling bad about being a lawyer, or just maybe tingling with the holiday spirit of giving back, this episode is for you. Listen to three professionals (well, maybe two "professionals") who deeply admire for the legal profession, the important role attorneys play in society, and all the potential they have to make the world a better place. When there is strife, there is a supporting organization, and with them are lawyers. Wrongful convictions. Voting rights. Environmental protection. The rights of women, people of color, workers,  LGBTQ, immigrants, asylum seekers.  Lawyers are in a unique position to do something about all of this. And they do. And we hope more will. Join me as I interview nationally acclaimed trial consultant Tara Trask and music industry star-maker Jason Flom. Tara Trask is the President of Trask Consulting, a boutique litigation strategy, jury research and trial consulting firm. Tara  focuses complex commercial litigation, from intellectual property to antitrust, from products liability to insurance, and oil and gas. She has extensive experience assisting institutions and individuals in matters involving regulatory enforcement and white-collar defense. Tara has been involved in more 450 jury trials. Music industry executive Jason Flom is  CEO of Lava Records, Lava Music Publishing, and Lava Media, LLC.  He is former  CEO at Atlantic Records, Virgin Records and Capitol Music Group. [...]

U.S. Government Enforcement Actions: Regulatory remediation settlement trends and claims administration best practices

December 1st, 2022|Categories: Emerging Issues Webinars, Emerging Litigation & Risk, Featured On-Demand, Tort Webinars, Torts-On-Demand-CLE|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

HB Litigation Conferences presents a complimentary CLE-eligible webinar on-demand Government Enforcement Actions Regulatory Remediation Settlement Trends and Administration Best Practices Government enforcement actions are increasing. It’s important for attorneys to understand regulatory trends and best practices for remediation and administration, and how these actions differ from traditional class action settlements. Here are some of the questions our speakers will address in this CLE-eligible webinar:  Why are government enforcement actions increasing? What are the common types of government consumer enforcement actions and how do they proceed? How do government enforcement actions differ from class actions? What are the key considerations in settlement negotiations in government enforcement actions? What are the components of settlement agreements in a government enforcement action? What notice efforts are required to help satisfy expected participation rates? Plus, answers to your questions via live chat. Webinar On Demand Recorded January 2023 What you get:  PowerPoint and supplemental materials. Complete recording for later review. Answers to your questions via email. Invitation to contact speakers directly. 1 CLE credit*. CLE assistance. *Subject to state bar rules. For licensed attorneys.  Register Meet the Speakers Mark Rapazzini Senior Director | Kroll Mark has more than 25 years of legal experience in cases ranging from individual [...]

PFAS Litigation—A Historical Overview and the Growing Trend in Consumer Fraud Lawsuits: What Are the Legal and Business Risks to Companies by John Gardella

November 30th, 2022|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Emerging Law Notes, HB Tort Notes, Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, New Featured Post for Home Page, Tort Litigation|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

The Author John P. Gardella (jgardella@cmbg3.com) is a shareholder and Chief Services Officer at CMBG3 Law, where he also chairs the firm’s PFAS, Environmental, Risk Management and Consulting and ESG practice groups. John is the latest addition to the Editorial Board of Directors for the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. PFAS Litigation A Historical Overview and the Growing Trend in Consumer Fraud Lawsuits "It is of the utmost importance that businesses along the whole supply chain in the consumer goods sector evaluate their PFAS risk and fully understand the legal arguments that plaintiffs could make against companies in litigation." Abstract: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of over 12,000 man-made compounds. Most people would recognize the brand names Teflon, produced by DuPont, and Scotchgard, produced by 3M. They also go by the nickname “forever chemicals” because they are highly persistent and mobile in the environment and the human body. In addition to bodily injury and environmental pollution litigation, plaintiffs are also bringing suits against companies for claiming their products and the making of their products are safe and green. This [...]

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