Class Action Defense | Attorney Deborah Renner
Attorney Deborah Renner has been advising and defending companies against consumer fraud and securities class actions for nearly twenty years. Having a specialty in class action law is different from having a specialty in other areas because class action law is about procedure. As a class action defense lawyer, she has had to apply the ins and outs of class action procedure in a variety of different substantive areas, such as data privacy (in which she is certified), consumer fraud, securities fraud, antitrust, RICO, ERISA, and even in the bankruptcy context. Throughout the years, Deborah has been able to develop a specialty not only in class action procedure, but in these substantive areas too.
The world of class action law is rapidly changing, providing new challenges and opportunities. In the last several years, the Roberts Court has taken on a number of important and fundamental issues, ranging from the meaning of certain class action criteria (commonality and predominance), to understanding when cases belong in state or federal court, to class arbitration, to the question of whether plaintiffs in securities class actions should have the presumption of class-wide reliance they have enjoyed since 1988, for example. An understanding of the Supreme Court’s rulings and the often disparate reactions of the lower courts to these rulings is key to defending a class action in every substantive area in which a company may be sued. For instance, who could have guessed that some courts would have reacted to certain of the Supreme Court’s pro-defendant rulings by making class certification easier through “issue certification,” by bifurcating the liability and damages phases of a case? Developing an effective class action defense strategy requires an understanding of the often complex and varied world of class action jurisprudence.
Deborah provides class action defense services for companies needing to defend themselves from class actions. Her substantive areas of knowledge include:
- Data Security Breach & Data Privacy
- ERISA
- RICO
- consumer fraud statutes
- common law fraud
- breach of contract
- antitrust and bankruptcy law
In addition to defending companies of any size in class action litigation, Deborah also advise companies on best practices and assists them when they are the target of regulatory investigations.
She works with clients to determine the most cost-efficient and affordable way to defend the class actions or regulatory investigations with which they are faced. If there is no conflict of interest, she often provides a free initial consult.
Education
- J.D., Harvard Law School, 1992, cum laude
- M.A., Princeton University, Comparative Politics, 1987
- B.A., Johns Hopkins University, International Studies, 1984, with honors
Class Action Defense
Recent cases:
Polanco v. Omnicell, Inc., 2013 WL 6823265 (D.N.J. Dec. 26, 2013) (dismissal of data breach class action)
Represented amicus on winning side in seminal class action cases before U.S. Supreme Court. The Standard Fire Ins. Co. v. Knowles, 133 S. Ct. 1345 (2013); Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 133 S. Ct. 1426 (2013)
Represent broker-dealer in securities class action
Represent company in investigation by state attorney general regarding data privacy and security practices
Rakes v. Life Investors Ins. Co. of America, 2008 WL 2158717 (N.D. Iowa June 20, 2008), aff’d, 2009 WL 2981976 (8th Cir. Sept. 18, 2009) (summary judgment in insurance fraud class action)
Picard v. Fox, 429 B.R. 423 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2010), aff’d, In re Madoff, 848 F. Supp.2d 469 (S.D.N.Y. 2012), aff’d, 740 F.3d 81 (2d Cir. 2014) (enjoining competing class action litigation)
Medis Investor Group v. Medis Technologies, Ltd., 586 F. Supp.2d 136 (S.D.N.Y. 2008), aff’d, 2009 WL 217277 (2d Cir. July 21, 2009) (dismissal of securities fraud class action)
In addition to defending companies in class actions, Deborah also frequently lectures on class action law and advises companies on best practices.
Deborah is a partner at Baker Hostetler LLP, where she chairs Baker’s class action defense practice in New York. See RennerClassActions.com or read more about Deborah here.