Class Action Defense

One of our clients with a top ten Fortune 500 Company once described his job as “overseeing the defense of claims that could potentially put us out of business.” Class action litigation has the potential of doing just that even to the largest and most profitable of companies.

This is especially true if the company finds itself litigating in one of the “judicial hellholes” that attract such cases like flies to honey. The class action attorneys at Clayborne & Wagner LLP have a successful track record of defending corporate clients in class action litigation in one of the “judicial hellholes” specifically mentioned by the United States Senate for the passage of the Class Action Fairness Act. Our attorneys have defended more than 50 class action cases both as lead counsel and as local counsel.

Class Action Experience

James Clayborne was the lead attorney in the Ford Motor Company litigation in Firestone Tire Recall and Ford Explorer Roll-Over Litigation filed in Illinois and was transferred to the MDL. Roland v. Firestone, St. Clair County, Illinois.
Served as lead defense counsel in Class Action settlement of $16 million-dollar Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act class action for less than $30,000 in Jackson v. Collection Acquisition LLC d/b/a Payliance, United States District Court for Eastern Missouri.
Represented U.S. Bank N.A. in five separate class actions brought in the U.S. District Court for Southern Illinois. The suits were brought to recover statutory damages for fees and interest charged to borrowers on subprime real estate mortgages. They were able to obtain dismissals of four of the cases on a unique defense that the statutes relied upon for the class claims were implicitly repealed by the legislature’s amendment to another section of the statutes. The fifth case was settled as part of a national class for about $80 million. Dunden v. U.S. Bank, USDC for Southern Illinois.
Brought a $100 million accounting malpractice claim against the outside auditors for a company our client invested in that turned out was involved in fraudulent conduct. RCM v. McGladrey, Cook County, Illinois.
Brought the latest in a series of class actions against banks claiming the method they used to pay checks when there was insufficient funds to pay all the checks presented for payment was intended by the banks to maximize insufficient funds fees. Plaintiffs’ counsel was successful in obtaining three separate settlements of $25 million each from three other banks before bringing this case. James Clayborne orchestrated a settlement of the case for $50,000. Green v. Mercantile Bank, St. Clair County, Illinois.
Obtained an order of dismissal on the class action complaint against many of the retailers of corded window blinds that was based upon theories of product liability, breach of warranties and civil conspiracy. Alsup v. Dolgencorp, Circuit Court of Madison County, Illinois
Obtained an order of dismissal with prejudice in a class action claim that was brought by commercial borrowers against a bank claiming the method of calculating interest was fraudulent and violated Illinois interest laws. PSCE LLC v. Associated Bank N.A., U.S. District Court, Southern Illinois.
Obtained dismissal of class action lawsuit in Federal Court where three corporate landlords brought a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against the City of East St. Louis, Illinois and Waste Management of Illinois. The crux of their lawsuit was their claim that the City and Waste Management used the City’s nuisance ordinances to target plaintiffs and other property owners because they failed to pay for trash collection. They also complained of the procedures used by the City for prosecuting the ordinance violations. The Complaint pled 18 separate Counts including claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1983, the Fourteenth Amendment, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Sherman Antitrust Act and a variety of state law claims including Conspiracy, violation of the Illinois Collection Agency Act, Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, Malicious Prosecution, Slander and Tortious Interference to name a few. Clayborne, Sabo and Wagner LLP represented the City and filed a motion to dismiss. The District Court granted the City’s motion dismissing all but one of the 18 claims with prejudice. The remaining claim was dismissed with leave to amend, but plaintiffs chose not to amend. Raven Securities, Inc., et al. v. City of East St. Louis, et al., 2014 W.L. 2976612 (U.S. Dist. S.D.IL July 2, 2014). U.S. Dist. Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
Served as lead counsel in class action settlement of $16 million dollar Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act class action for less than $30,000. A company faced $16 million in statutory damages plus attorneys’ fees in a class action. We negotiated a class settlement for only $30,000 and obtained approval for the settlement from the Court. Jackson v. Collection Acquisition LLC d/b/a Payliance, United States District Court for Eastern Missouri. (Order certifying the class is found at 2013 WL 5592603 (U.S. Dist. E.D. Mo. Oct. 9, 2013)
Represented a lender in a class action complaint against a bank for its method of calculating interest on commercial loans. Plaintiffs were seeking monetary damages for the interest accrual method used by the bank to determine the amount of interest owed. The court granted the lender’s motion to dismiss. PSCE LLC v. Associated Bank N.A., U.S. District Court, Southern Illinois.
Circuit Court in St. Clair County, Illinois, dismisses class action against insurance company.
Represented an insurer in a class action against a homeowner’s insurance company after his home was damaged by a fire. At issue was how actual cost and replacement cost were determined under the terms of the policy. The court to dismissed the case. Diaz v. Farmers Ins. Co., St. Clair County, Illinois.