Disposition Analysis

Disposition Analysis

The vast majority of cases in which a class is certified end in a classwide settlement disposition. Eighty-nine percent of certified cases ended in settlement, as compared to only 15% in cases with no certification.

Cases with a certified class

Settlement 89%

Other disposition 3%

Dismissed with prejudice Dismissed without prejudice

2% 2% Summary judgment for defendant 2% Coordinated 1%

Removed to federal court 1%

Verdict for defendant Verdict for plaintiff Consolidated with another case Total <1% <1% 0% 100%

Cases without a certified class

15% 8% 21% 16% 4% 13% 10% <1% <1% 12% 100%

Table 14. Disposition composition for cases filed as class action, with and without a certified class56

The settlement rate for cases with a certified class in California falls within the same spectrum identified in a study examining class action cases in four federal districts in which federal settlement rates for class actions with a certified class ―ranged from 62% to 100%. ‖57 The settlement rate for cases in which a class was not certified was slightly higher in the federal districts than in California, however, ranging from 20% to 30%.58

Cases in which a class is not certified are most frequently disposed through dismissal, both with and without prejudice, which may support the theory that some class action cases are filed with a strategic motive that is not necessarily linked to the underlying merits of the case. Also, unsurprisingly, uncertified cases showed a high percentage of interim dispositions concerning proper jurisdiction and case management (removal, transfer, coordination, consolidation), which, as discussed, are typically rendered early in the case prior to any activity in furtherance of class certification.

56 See appen. D, table D.1 for full data 57 Thomas E. Willging et al., An Empirical Study of Class Actions in Four Federal District Courts: Final Report to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules (1996), p. 60. 58 Ibid.