Practitioners' Note by Scott S. Partridge and Kerry J. Miller
There has been an explosion in products liability and consumer class actions. Recent targets of class actions include the tobacco, handgun, laptop computer, health insurance, water heater, life insurance, and telephone service industries. Dozens of other class actions have been filed against individual companies that manufacture consumer products or provide consumer services. The class action lawyers filing these cases are able, aggressive, and well-financed. Because a single adverse verdict in a class action case can jeopardize a company's financial future, potential class action liability places corporate executives and counsel in the uncomfortable position of “betting the company” and litigating or avoiding that risk by settling, even though the plaintiffs' case is weak. Consequently, practitioners defending these cases must quickly assess the risks involved, identify whether to litigate or settle, and develop a litigation or settlement strategy. The purpose of this Practitioners' Note is to provide a road map for this decision-making process.
About the Author
Scott S. Partridge. Managing Partner, Frilot, Partridge, Kohnke & Clements, L.C., New Orleans, Louisiana. Mr. Partridge heads the firm's products liability and complex litigation practice areas and represents international and national companies in complex products liability and consumer class actions.
Kerry J. Miller. Associate, Frilot, Partridge, Kohnke & Clements, L.C., New Orleans, Louisiana. Mr. Miller's practice is focused on complex and class action litigation.
Citation
74 Tul. L. Rev. 2125 (2000)