California. These cases also have a higher frequency of settlement than that seen in cases that did not achieve certification after a motion or had no certification activity (36% and 26%, respectively). However, 30% of cases certified through litigated motion concluded in an outcome that could be characterized as favorable to the defendant,71 including one trial verdict in favor of the defendant and a somewhat surprisingly high percentage of summary judgments. This data indicates that though settlement after certification is the most probable outcome, class certification does not render settlement inevitable in California or that defendants are forced without fail into settlement after certification. Time to Settlement after Certification Another analysis relevant to the evaluation of settlement pressure is the time between the ruling on the motion for certification and the settlement disposition. In one of the few empirical studies that address this question, Willging et al. argue that ―[u]nless settlement follows reasonably promptly after certification, the settlement would not seem to be directly related to the certification.‖72 In other words, settlement that occurs long after class certification runs counter to the idea that the certification decision forced that disposition. Mean (days)
Median (days)
Stayed
770
1,075
Removed to federal court
586
586
Summary judgment
572
609
Settlement
542
479
Verdict for defendant
524
524
Verdict for plaintiff
466
466
Dismissed with prejudice
457
447
Certification status appeal
424
424
Other
354
354
Dismissed without prejudice
178
113
Transferred
50
50
Coordinated
31
4
Table 17. Mean and median days between granting of a motion for certification and disposition Among the cases in the study, the median time between the granting of a motion for certification and a settlement disposition was 479 days, or 16 months.73 This falls in the upper half of the spectrum for all dispositions, as seen in table 17, and is higher than the median for all other
71
This includes cases that disposed by dismissal with prejudice, dismissal without prejudice, summary judgment for defendant, or verdict for defendant. 72 Willging et al., supra note 57, at p. 61. 73 This falls within the time found in federal districts which ranged from 9.2 to 18.9 months. See Ibid.
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