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Practice/Industry Group Overview
Baker Hostetler has one of the most experienced National Consumer Class Action Defense teams of any firm in the country. This team is complemented by the Employment Class Action Defense team and the Wage and Hour Class and Collective Action Defense team.
These three teams have risen to elite national status, having defended over 200 national and state class actions for major corporations in over 25 states in the last five years. Together, these teams typically defend 30 to 40 class actions at any one time and regularly defend companies in plaintiff-friendly "magnet" jurisdiction state courts, as well as major federal jurisdictions.
The Class Action teams defend clients in every facet of class action proceedings, including class certification, motions to dismiss, summary judgment, standing issues, juridical link issues, unfair trade practice act issues, remedial action issues, trials, opt-out and objector issues, and all facets of parallel administrative proceedings, related criminal proceedings and derivative actions.
Creative Settlements and Resolutions
The reality of consumer class action litigation is the vast majority of cases are settled. Our National Consumer Class Action Defense team has extensive experience in creatively resolving cases and supervising the administration of class action settlements, including settlements with settlement classes of over 6 million members. The Team's experience includes creative methods for dealing with objectors, "opt-outs" and collateral regulatory actions.
Class Action Fairness Act: New Challenges
Passage of the Class Action Fairness Act in 2005 changed the class action defense landscape. However, as is true with all "reform" legislation, new issues and challenges arose, including:
- New removal and class demographic issues.
- Stringent settlement fairness hearings.
- Ramifications of mandatory notice to state regulatory and enforcement agencies.
Our National Consumer Class Action Defense team is uniquely positioned to build upon its deep experience to creatively defend these reform age cases. We have successfully removed cases under the Act, and we are uniquely prepared to defend transition cases and "eleventh hour cases" filed in plaintiff friendly jurisdictions on the eve of passage of the Act.
Seamless and Efficient National Representation
Our in-depth experience gives us the ability to assemble a seamless national team to handle any case, be it national, regional or state. We maintain case and brief banks accessible to all team members, and have developed technology that allows us to maintain, retrieve and collate vast detailed class information for purposes of assaulting class certification, as well as analyzing potential settlement parameters and administering large settlements.
Represented Industries and Practice Areas
While the team has a depth of experience in representation of major financial services providers, we also have extensive experience in the following industries and practice areas:
- Motor Vehicle Insurance
- Title insurance
- Life Insurance
- Collateral Protection Insurance
- Airlines
- Mortgage banking
- Products liability
- Time share
- Heavy equipment and automobile dealers
- ERISA
- Securities
- Telecommunications
- Antitrust
- Fair Credit Reporting Act
- Banking
- Taxpayer's suit
An Interdisciplinary Approach
The broad national general litigation practice of Baker Hostetler allows the National Consumer Class Action Defense team to use an interdisciplinary approach to its defense strategies. Many of its members are members of other litigation practice teams such as the White Collar Defense, Appellate, Products Liability & Toxic Tort, and Antitrust, which are called upon to bring additional experience to our client's defense.
Relationships
We have forged successful relationships with local counsel throughout the country to appropriately assist in our defense. We have also forged strong relationships with expert witnesses throughout the nation as well as with class action administrators and due process testimonial experts.
The Team
The Baker Hostetler Class Action team's experience runs from the most seasoned trial partners to junior associates. We strive to staff in a streamlined and seamless way to expeditiously and successfully defend all cases, from the most massive national class actions to the smaller statewide only class actions, as well as individual "opt-out" cases. Our presence in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; The District of Columbia; New York City; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, California; and Orlando, Florida assures experience in all major as well as "magnet" jurisdictions.
Class Action Defense Experience
Financial Services Class Action Experience
Auto Insurance - Claims Adjusting and Rate Practices
- Defended auto insurance company regarding the specification of non-OEM or aftermarket parts in repair estimates. Class certification defeated. Affirmed on appeal.
- Defended auto insurers in multiple class actions seeking interest on all settlement agreements entered into over the last 15 years; summary judgment for the defendant and class certification denied. Affirmed on appeal by the Ohio Supreme Court.
- Defended auto insurance company in multiple class actions regarding the taking of depreciation or "betterment" deductions in paying for collision repairs. Case settled.
- Defended auto insurance company regarding diminution of value claims made by insured during the collision repair process. Motion to dismiss granted in favor of client.
- Defended auto insurers in multiple class actions regarding the provision of collateral protection insurance to lender. Summary judgment granted in favor of client and upheld on appeal.
- Defended auto insurer in class action based on the Ohio Valued Policy Statute for fire damage to a mobile home. Class certification defeated.
- Represented defendant insurance company in class action alleging improper titling of total loss vehicles. Summary judgment granted in favor of client. Class certification defeated.
- Defense of putative state class action involving PIP benefits. Settled and dismissed.
- Defense of national class action involving alternative commission program. Settled and dismissed.
- Defense of putative national class action challenging renewal premiums in the renewal of auto insurance. Case voluntarily dismissed by plaintiff.
- Defended in a class action alleging that insurers overcharged policyholders for car insurance. Motion for summary judgment filed. Case voluntarily dismissed by plaintiff.
- Assumed defense of case upon appeal from decision granting class certification against largest personal lines property and casualty insurer, for claims relating to sale of uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance coverage. Obtained reversal of class certification by court of appeals, subsequently reversed by Ohio Supreme Court. Obtained summary judgment for client against claims of over one million policyholders.
- Represented largest personal lines property and casualty insurer against class claims involving the calculation of motor vehicle property damage. Class certification defeated.
- Represented homeowners' insurer against class claims involving payment of general contractor's overhead and profit. Settled and dismissed.
- Defended largest personal lines property and casualty insurer against alleged violations of the Ohio Uninsured Motorists Property Damage Statute. Case dismissed prior to certification.
Title Insurance and Mortgage Lending
- Defended title insurer in multiple class actions regarding alleged overcharging of premiums in refinancing transactions. Class settlement tentatively approved by court.
- Defense of putative national class action alleging improper and duplicative recording fees. Client voluntarily dismissed by plaintiff.
- Defended mortgage lender against class claims regarding appraisal calculations. Case voluntarily dismissed by plaintiff.
- Defense of bank against class allegations of overcharging fees related to mortgage cancelations. Settled and dismissed.
- Represented the defendant in class action involving allegations of untimely recordation of mortgage payoffs. Settled and dismissed.
- Represented mortgage lender against claims of breach of contract and misrepresentation relating to fees charged to customers selling residential real estate.
- Defended mortgage lender in national class action challenging yield spread premium. Motion to dismiss granted in favor of client.
- Defended mortgage lender in class action involving allegedly unauthorized lending practices. Case dismissed.
- Defended Arkansas class action involving alleged violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act in connection with alleged overcharges related to mortgage loan servicing. Class allegations dismissed.
Commercial Insurance
- Defended insurer in class action challenging the provision of forced-order hazard insurance to mortgage company. Motion to dismiss in favor of insurer granted by court.
- Defended insurer in class action challenging the provision of credit life insurance to borrowers of lender. Motion to dismiss granted by court in favor of insurer.
Other
- Represented the defendant in case challenging finance charges assessed in conjunction with retail credit sales. Settled and dismissed.
- Defended client against class allegations that it had violated the Texas Debt Collection Act in connection with its collection letters.
- Represented insurance broker and Bermuda insurance company in class actions challenging calculation of shippers' insurance premiums. Consolidated for pretrial purposes before S.D.N.Y. by the MDL Panel.
- Defended life insurance company in class action challenging vanishing premium policies. Class certification denied and upheld on appeal.
- Defended class action involving securities fraud and civil RICO issues. Judgment for client by U.S. Supreme Court.
- Represented brokerage firm regarding entitlement to interest in futures trading. Case dismissed with prejudice by plaintiff.
- Represented the defendant in case involving allegations of aiding and abetting state securities fraud in connection with purchase of notes.
Employment Class And Collective Action Experience
Wage and Hour
- Represented the defendant in class action that was the first decision by a federal court in California addressing the exempt status of insurance adjusters under federal law. The decision, which upheld our client's motion for summary judgment, was the only case cited by the U.S. Department of Labor in its November, 19, 2002 opinion letter confirming the DOL's position that such insurance adjusters are exempt under federal law. It is also cited in the preamble to the DOL's 2004 regulations amending the federal exemptions, 69 Federal Register 22122, et seq.
- Represented the defendant in multiple class actions alleging that insurer improperly classified claims adjusters as non-exempt for purposes of overtime. This case involved numerous technical and jurisdictional challenges as well as a number of issues regarding the application of the "administrative" exemption under state and federal law.
Employment Discrimination
- Represented defendant in class action seeking damages under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Class certification denied. Summary judgment granted in favor of client.
- Represented the defendant in class action filed under FLSA for recovery of overtime compensation.
- Obtained a jury verdict for the client in a Title VII race discrimination, racial harassment and retaliation class action brought by the EEOC. This case was selected by the National Law Journal as one of "The Top 50 Defense Verdicts of 2001" and it was the only employment discrimination case to be included on the Journal's list.
- Defended clients in class actions involving sex discrimination. Case dismissed by plaintiff.
- Defended client in class action alleging race discrimination in terms and conditions of employment.
- Represented the defendant in class claims of race discrimination in public accommodations where companion cases were filed by the U.S. Department of Justice and individual employees.
- Represented client in class action involving claims against several supermarkets alleging that they are liable as joint employers for multiple wage and hour violations allegedly committed by a contractor and subcontractors.
- Represented the defendant in class action involving allegations of race discrimination in public accommodations.
About Baker Hostetler's Litigation Team
When the stakes are bet-the-company monetary damages, potential criminal sentences, and intense scrutiny in the court of public opinion, the 200-plus litigators of Baker Hostetler are a team to depend on. We have the kind of credentials you expect from a leading national litigation firm and a client base we have protected in and out of court for decades.
What really sets us apart is our practical experience as trial lawyers. The Baker Hostetler team includes former top prosecutors of the U.S. Justice Department (four of whom received the Attorney General's Distinguished Services Award), former prosecutors for major municipalities, veteran civil trial attorneys and enforcement officials from various federal agencies, from the Department of Energy to the SEC and NASD.
About Baker Hostetler
Baker Hostetler lawyers help clients establish, maintain and protect market-leading positions across the United States and around the world. We offer clients the strength of 600+ lawyers in a full range of practices, a unique geographic platform including both the coasts and the center of the country, a deep knowledge of industry issues and a 90-year track record of excellence and achievement.
For more information about our Class Action Defense practice:
National Contact
Ernest E. Vargo
216.861.7349
evargo@bakerlaw.com
Cincinnati
William Appleton
513.929.3403
wappleton@bakerlaw.com
Cleveland
Ernest E. Vargo
216.861.7349
evargo@bakerlaw.com
Columbus
Mark A. Johnson
614.462.2698
mjohnson@bakerlaw.com
Costa Mesa
George T. Mooradian
714.966.8800
gmooradian@bakerlaw.com
Denver
John B. Moorhead
303.764.4045
jmoorhead@bakerlaw.com
Houston
James C. Winton
713.646.1304
jwinton@bakerlaw.com
Los Angeles
Helen B. Kim
213.975.1611
hkim@bakerlaw.com
New York
Paul P. Eyre
212.589.4210
peyre@bakerlaw.com
Orlando
Jerry R. Linscott
407.649.4024
jlinscott@bakerlaw.com
Washington, DC
Elizabeth A. Scully
202.861.1698
escully@bakerlaw.com
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