Consumer Class Actions
NERA experts provide assistance at each stage of consumer class actions alleging misrepresentation, fraud, product failure or diminution of value. We have experience in a wide range of industries including credit cards, automobiles and automotive products, computers, sporting goods, medical products, buildings products, and telecommunication devices.
We are often asked, at an early stage of a class action, to assess data requirements and assist clients with data management issues. Certain data may be available from the company, e.g., in the form of product sales and distribution records. In some cases, though, data relevant to the litigation may not be available from business records. NERA experts have conducted surveys to fill the data gap. For example, we have developed surveys to assess whether product users were similarly affected or to reveal that no typical class can be defined.
Increasingly, courts have been considering expert testimony before ruling on class certification. Our empirical analyses have been used at the class certification stage to provide an evidentiary basis for properly delineating a class consistent with the requirements of Rule 23(b) or rejecting class certification altogether. If the class has already been certified, our experts help by quantifying potential exposure, as well as developing rigorous estimates of any potential damages. Our staff includes computer programmers who are skilled at the efficient management and analysis of large databases, sometimes containing information for several hundred thousand plaintiffs.
For parties engaged in the development of structured settlements, NERA assists by modeling the expected liability and administrative costs of settlement proposals. This analysis involves predicting participation and approval rates, and consideration of alternative means of payment such as coupons. Another important element of such analyses is the estimation of the number of class members expected to opt-out of the settlement, accounting for the evidentiary requirements and other features of the settlement such as appeals provisions. NERA helps to determine the best settlement structure by estimating the effect of alternative payment and qualification criteria. We also model cash flows, funding needs, and related insurance recoveries.
