Eimer Stahl defends companies against class actions and multidistrict litigation in federal and state courts nationwide. Our clients face high-exposure consumer, antitrust, BIPA, data privacy, environmental, and product liability claims, often with aggregated damages in the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. We have represented companies in some of the country's largest class actions, as well as in some of its longest-running matters—cases resolved only after years of contested discovery, hard-fought class certification briefing, and parallel proceedings across state and federal courts.
Class action defense is its own discipline, and our practice is built around those features, not around general commercial litigation principles applied to a larger set of plaintiffs. We structure class action defenses around the procedural inflection points that determine outcomes—motions to dismiss, class certification, expert challenges, and trial—rather than treating these cases as standard litigation scaled up. Our attorneys have decades of focused experience in class action and multidistrict litigation, and that experience shows up in outcomes.
In just the past few years, the firm has defeated class certification, won dismissals, and secured appellate affirmances across antitrust, BIPA, consumer fraud, Title IX, product liability, and FLSA matters. Among recent results: complete withdrawal of class action and mass arbitration claims under BIPA against an AI voice technology company; appellate affirmance of a complete defense victory for an international semiconductor supplier in an antitrust class action; and denial of nationwide class certification for a long-term care insurer in fraud and breach-of-contract claims.
Experience
In re: MultiPlan Health Insurance Provider Litigation – Defending Humana Inc. in multiple purported class actions alleging an industry-wide conspiracy to fix the price of out-of-network healthcare costs through the use of a common vendor.
Atterbury, Jessica v. SoundHound, Inc. – Secured the voluntary withdrawal for SoundHound of putative class and mass arbitration BIPA claims alleging unlawful collection of voiceprints through a mobile app, resolving the matter without litigation or payment.
In re: Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) Antitrust Litigation – Secured complete victory for semiconductor supplier SK hynix Inc. against direct and indirect purchaser antitrust class claims; both complaints dismissed with prejudice and affirmed on appeal.
In re: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether ("MTBE") Products Liability Litigation – Defending CITGO against a host of federal and state court actions filed by local and state governments and private water suppliers alleging that the oil industry’s use of MTBE in gasoline contaminated groundwater and drinking water resources.
Boaden, Gunn, Sieving, Brown, and Cheslow v. Continental Casualty Company – Defending Continental Casualty Company in nationwide class actions by long-term care insurance policyholders alleging fraud and breach of contract in claims-handling practices; the court denied plaintiffs' nationwide class certification motion.
In re: Crop Inputs Antitrust Litigation – Secured dismissal for Winfield Solutions, LLC and Federated Co-operatives in antitrust complaints brought on behalf of putative classes of purchasers of seeds and crop-protection chemicals such as fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides used by farmers; affirmed on appeal.
In re: Granulated Sugar Antitrust Litigation – Obtained dismissal in favor of client Michigan Sugar Company in dozens of antitrust class actions alleging a conspiracy to fix granulated sugar prices.
Chen, et al. v. Hillsdale College – Obtained dismissal for Hillsdale College in a putative class action alleging violations of Title IX and various state laws; affirmed on appeal.
Rougeau v. 3M Company – Defending BASF Corporation in a putative class action in which plaintiffs raise various tortious and statutory claims against for alleged disposal of PFAS in Northern Wisconsin.
Kennedy, et al. v. Lyft, Inc. – Representing Lyft in a high-profile class action alleging that its Women+ Connect feature violates California anti-discrimination law; obtained an order compelling arbitration.
In re: Shell Eggs Antitrust Litigation – Representing Cal-Maine Foods Inc. in multidistrict, putative class actions alleging antitrust violations by shell-egg suppliers.
Beyer v. Michels Corporation – Representing Michels Corporation in a putative FLSA and Wisconsin wage-and-hour class and collective action; obtained dismissal of nearly all class and collective claims, narrowing the case to a single individual claim, now on appeal to the Seventh Circuit.
Loop, LLC v. CDK Global, LLC – Negotiated settlement for CDK Global on the eve of a class action antitrust trial alleging our client and another company conspired to restrain trade in relation to their data management systems.
Kelecseny v. Chevron, et al. – Defeated class certification for CITGO in a lawsuit against gasoline manufacturers by Florida boat owners who claimed that their boats’ engines and fuel systems were damaged by ethanol-blended fuel.
