Victory in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

On November 1, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a class certification order that had been entered in Multi District Litigation proceedings involving a Dowd Bennett manufacturing company client.  The district court had certified a nationwide class of plaintiffs challenging the advertising for wet/dry vacuums under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act and other claims.  In reversing the class certification order, the court agreed with the manufacturer’s arguments that the consumer protection laws of each class member’s home state govern their claims and certification of a nationwide class under the MMPA was improper.  The court also agreed that an individualized choice-of-law analysis was required for each claim.  Dowd Bennett attorneys Jim Bennett and Hannah Preston represented the manufacturer on appeal.