Class action lawsuits expose manufacturers to enormous financial risk.
Mark Raffman, partner in Goodwin Procter's Business Litigation Practice
Recent Developments in the Law
The Supreme Court's recent ruling in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes clarifies the law in a way that will make it harder for plaintiffs to engineer broad class action lawsuits. While the details of the ruling are complex, as a practical matter, defendants are now better equipped to prevent class certification if they can show that non-common issues affect the claims of individual plaintiffs.
In practice, to prevent a class action manufactures must find new ways to harvest evidence differentiating one claim from another, and identify narrow patterns among reported defects. An improved customer service function that is focused on mining for this critical data should serve as the front line in combating class action lawsuits.
Building a Trail of Differentiating Evidence
Building products manufacturers have a unique opportunity to develop a trail of differentiating evidence through the prolonged and back-and-forth relationship between manufacturers and the end users of their products.
Consumers of building products -- ranging from "do-it-yourselfers" to those relying on contractors or installers -- make use of the products in widely different settings and over long periods of time.
