Overview

Corvane Ryle's Class Actions team defends companies against putative class and collective actions in federal and state courts. We act for retailers, consumer brands, technology companies, healthcare providers and financial institutions, and our clients choose us because the cases that reach a courtroom are the ones we have already prepared to try.

We start with the pleadings. Many class actions can be ended or narrowed on a motion to dismiss, whether on standing, arbitration agreements, preemption or the failure to state a claim, and we have a record of success on those motions. Where a case continues, we focus on class certification, which is the decisive stage in most of them. Our lawyers work with economists, survey experts and data scientists to show why a class cannot be certified or why damages cannot be proven on a common basis.

The subject matter changes with the market. Consumer cases now challenge subscription and auto-renewal practices, drip pricing and junk fees, product labeling and sustainability claims, and loyalty program terms. Privacy cases challenge website pixels, session replay, biometric data and wiretapping under state statutes such as the California Invasion of Privacy Act. Securities cases follow disclosures about technology, artificial intelligence and climate risk. We watch these trends so that clients can fix problems before they are pleaded.

We also advise on the arbitration agreements, class waivers and terms of use that shape a company's exposure, and on settlement when it is the right commercial answer, including the approval process and claims administration. Appeals are part of the practice, and we regularly argue in the federal courts of appeals.

Owen Castellanos in New York and Grace Whitcombe in Chicago lead the team, which draws on trial lawyers across the firm. Matters include the defense verdict we secured for Halvern Retail Group.

Key lawyers

Our class action defense lawyers combine trial experience with consumer protection and privacy expertise.

• Owen Castellanos, Partner, New York
• Grace Whitcombe, Partner; Head of Consumer Protection, Chicago

Representative experience

• Secured a defense verdict for Halvern Retail Group in a consumer class action.
• Defeated class certification in a nationwide pricing case against a specialty retailer.
• Obtained dismissal of a putative class action over website tracking technologies.
• Defended a subscription business in a class action over automatic renewal and cancellation practices.
• Obtained dismissal with prejudice of a securities class action against a NYSE-listed company.
• Negotiated a class settlement for a consumer products company in a labeling case.
• Argued an appeal in the Second Circuit that narrowed a class certification order.
• Defended a retailer against a mass arbitration campaign.