Interested in training for your team? Click here to learn more

Opting Out of Class Actions: Key Considerations for Plaintiffs; How Defendants Can Keep the Class Together

Advantages, Risks, Procedural Pitfalls, Settlement Leverage, Timing and Adequacy, Venue, Lessons From Recent Cases

A live 90-minute CLE video webinar with interactive Q&A

This program is included with the Strafford CLE Pass. Click for more information.
This program is included with the Strafford All-Access Pass. Click for more information.

Thursday, January 9, 2025

1:00pm-2:30pm EST, 10:00am-11:30am PST

or call 1-800-926-7926
Add to your calendar

This CLE course will guide counsel for putative class members on what factors to consider when advising clients on whether to opt out of a putative class. The program will assist counsel for the defense on best strategies for keeping the class together. The webinar will discuss not only the opt out decision but also recent case law on the mechanics of opting.

Description

Whether to opt out of a putative class action is incredibly complicated and requires a different analysis than whether to pursue a stand-alone claim. Though staying in the class may seem simpler, it is not always in a party's best interests. Recent studies and reports show that more and more plaintiffs, both individuals and entities, are opting out of securities, antitrust, and other business practices class actions.

The most compelling reason for opting out is the chance to recover a significantly larger amount than if remaining in the class. Opt-out plaintiffs also hope to resolve the matter more quickly than remaining in the class, but the decision must often be made years before a settlement is proposed or approved. The threat of opting out can also be a powerful tool for plaintiffs in getting a larger recovery, whether through litigation or a separate settlement.

But a prospective larger recovery must be weighed against the defendants' incentive to litigate long and hard against opt-outs, the need to file a separate case, the facts of the case, and whether other aggregate proceedings such as MDL cases are pending. Opting out does not prevent a plaintiff from being dragged into discovery in the class action.

Listen as our experienced panel discusses the key considerations in deciding whether a plaintiff should remain part of a class or bring its own claims, how to use the threat of opting out as leverage in settlement, and recent decisions about the procedural pitfalls of not properly opting out.

READ MORE

Outline

  1. Significance of opt-out rights
  2. Contrasting opt-in classes
  3. Timing and adequacy of opting out
  4. Factors to consider
    1. Value
    2. Time to resolution
    3. Risks
    4. Venue
    5. Claims

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • How critical are opt-outs and objections in class action litigation?
  • How frequently do class members opt out of class actions in particular cases?
  • What is the relationship between opt-out plaintiffs and objections?
  • What other considerations exist besides the amount of recovery?

Faculty

Hackett, Jennifer
Jennifer Duncan Hackett
Partner
Zelle

Ms.  Hackett has experience in all aspects of complex antitrust, commercial, and financial services litigation,...  |  Read More

Rudolph, Brendan
Brendan J. Rudolph
Principal
Cornerstone Research

Mr. Rudolph consults to attorneys and helps prepare expert testimony in all phases of complex commercial litigation,...  |  Read More

Wagner, Scott
Scott N. Wagner
Partner
Bilzin Sumberg

Mr. Wagner is a partner in the firm’s Trial & Litigation Group, where he represents companies and...  |  Read More

Attend on January 9

Cannot Attend January 9?

You may pre-order a recording to listen at your convenience. Recordings are available 48 hours after the webinar. Strafford will process CLE credit for one person on each recording. All formats include course handouts.

To find out which recorded format will provide the best CLE option, select your state:

CLE On-Demand Video