Law360 Publishes Akin Gump Article on 2nd Circuit Ruling Pertaining to Decertifying a Class after a Jury Verdict
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Law360 has published the article “Nixing A Class After Jury Verdict—It’s Possible,” written by Akin Gump litigation partner Neal Marder, counsel Ali Rabbani and associate Andrew Jick.
The article examines a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, which reaffirmed that district courts “have the power to decertify a class even after a jury verdict.” In the case in question, Mazzei v. The Money Store, the appeals court held that “a class of mortgage borrowers awarded $32 million by a jury was properly decertified by the district court before the entry of final judgment.”
The ruling, the authors write, “reaffirms that defendants can obtain decertification of a class action not only leading up to trial, but even after a jury verdict in favor of the class.” They add that the decision also underscores “the importance for defendants of pretrial and trial strategy focused not only on attacking the class plaintiffs’ claims on the merits, but also on challenging the evidence in support of the Rule 23 [of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure] requirements for class certification.”
To read the full article, please click here.
