Overview
The attorneys in Stinson's Class Action practice have litigated class action cases throughout the United States on behalf of major business clients. We also have initiated and participated in multi-district litigation (MDL) proceedings involving groups of class action claims. These proceedings have involved antitrust, product liability, employment, financial, consumer protection, environmental, insurance and securities fraud cases, among others.
Getting an Early Command
Because class action lawsuits are costly and burdensome, we believe it is important to develop an early command of the facts and governing law to develop strategies that enable clients to achieve their objectives at minimal cost and burden.
Litigants often seek to apply the increased leverage that comes with class allegations. When similar class action cases are filed in various states, discovery and case developments occur quickly across multiple forums at the same time.
We work with clients to evaluate and implement strategies designed to streamline discovery and its associated burden, to enforce arbitration agreements, where applicable, to determine whether an MDL proceeding should be formed, and to defeat or limit the scope of class certification, while planning the defense on the merits of the action.
Experience
There is no substitute for first-chair trial experience. Our class action experience includes:
- Precedent-setting Minnesota Supreme Court decision affirming the dismissal of discrimination and antitrust claims.
- Successfully representing a baby bottle manufacturer in more than 40 putative consumer class actions filed in more than 10 state and federal courts.
- Handling groundbreaking cases involving the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), including successful defense of a motion challenging a federal court's jurisdiction under CAFA that allowed our client to prevail against a motion to certify a class of policyholders.
- Obtaining a defense verdict in the trial of a multibillion-dollar fraud case.
- Defending nationwide and state antitrust class actions for major telecommunications and pharmaceutical companies.
- Defending nationwide and state consumer and business billing practices class actions.
- Defending right-of-way class actions for major telecommunications companies.
- Defending securities class actions against publicly traded companies.
- Obtaining a defense verdict against class claims submitted to the jury on damages exceeding $90 million.
National Talent
The attorneys in Stinson's Class Action Litigation practice have diverse experiences and educational backgrounds, which enable them to advocate in a clear and compelling manner. The pool of attorneys includes former federal prosecutors and attorneys at premier law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice, as well attorneys with graduate-level training in economics and finance. The former federal prosecutors enhance our team’s expertise with their wealth of trial experience.
We also recruit associates from the top law schools across the county and from prestigious clerkships in federal courts.
Innovative Fee Structures
We work closely with our clients to make the costs of class action litigation more manageable and predictable. We are pleased to discuss alternative fee arrangements with clients.
