'Daubert' Challenges at the Class Certification Stage: Another Hurdle

Defendants are increasingly utilizing challenges to the admissibility of plaintiffs’ expert evidence under Rule 702 and Daubert to defeat class certification. The vast majority of courts considering such challenges have conducted a full Daubert analysis to assess the reliability and relevance of plaintiffs’ proffered expert opinions. While a minority of courts have held that a full Daubert inquiry is not always appropriate at the class certification stage, many of these courts nonetheless have held that some form of Daubert analysis is required.

Judge Katherine B. Forrest’s well-publicized decision denying class certification in IBEW Local Pension Fund v. Deutsche Bank AG¹ is only the latest in a string of decisions by the federal courts requiring rigorous proof of the reliability of expert testimony before litigation may proceed as a class. Given the strong trend toward a rigorous analysis of expert opinion testimony of the class certification stage, more such decisions are likely in the future.

A Natural Application of Rule 702, ‘Daubert’