Time to Settlement After Certification

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.

Stayed Removed to federal court Summary judgment Settlement Verdict for defendant Verdict for plaintiff Dismissed with prejudice Certification status appeal Other Dismissed without prejudice Transferred Coordinated

Mean (days) Median (days)

770 1,075

586 586

572

542

609

479

524 466 524 466

457 424 354 178 50 31 447 424 354 113 50 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.