Class Action Litigation
The key to successfully defending against class action suits is to “nip them in the bud”—well before trial. Andrews Kurth is unrelenting in this pursuit. We attack class actions on behalf of our clients in two primary ways. Our first line of defense is to have the case disposed before the formal class certification process. The second is to defeat the actual class certification. The first course of action is our preferred approach, but we have built a strong track record in both. Bottom line – no matter what class action problems our clients may be facing, we strive to solve them and deliver successful results, before a trial ever takes place.
Andrews Kurth primarily handles class actions in the shareholder, consumer, and labor and employment areas. Our attorneys have extensive experience in handling mergers and acquisitions litigation, workers comp insurance issues, employment discrimination, state human rights claims and other employment actions filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act. We regularly serve clients in banking and financial services, insurance, manufacturing, oilfield services, oil and gas exploration, technology, and more. We also defend clients against multi-party litigation.
Good lawyering gets results.
It’s a simple but powerful equation. At Andrews Kurth we leverage our experience, take a smart approach to the case, and help clients succeed. Our lawyers know the law inside and out, and begin preparing from day one to get a successful outcome in the most efficient manner possible. This approach also has the benefit of saving our clients money. We have no need to crowd the courtroom with lawyers. We staff our cases to be lean and cost-effective – the right litigators with the right experience to get the job done.
This efficiency continues even to the most complex, multifaceted cases. When a case calls for knowledge from another legal area, we’re on it. Our class-action lawyers routinely draw on other Andrews Kurth practice areas as needed for advice and assistance, including our nationally ranked labor and employment, real estate, tax, corporate securities and mergers and acquisitions practices.
Once we obtain a result for a client in the trial court, we’re not finished defending them. Andrews Kurth has a renowned appellate group with a proven track record of success in protecting our clients’ interests in post trial proceedings and in the appellate courts.
A winning record.
Ford v. NYLCare Health Plans of the Gulf Coast, Inc. The Fifth Circuit affirmed denial of class certification and summary judgment of plaintiff’s Lanham Act claim challenging our client’s advertising to prospective HMO members.
Piggly-Wiggly Clarksville v. Interstate Brands Corp. We defeated a motion for class certification in a price-fixing case against our client, a wholesale baker and distributor of bread and snack cakes, which was affirmed by the Fifth Circuit.
Fuentes v. American Express Travel Related Services Company, et al. Class Certification defeated and case dismissed in state court action challenging the imposition of fees for foreign currency credit card transactions.
Siegel, et al. v. Vallen Corporation, et al. In a shareholder class action, we obtained summary judgment in favor of our client on the merits before class certification.
