Incomparable Results: WT’s lawyers have been lead counsel in more than 200 putative actions involving a variety of claims, including TCPA, CIPA, UCL, FDCPA, ADA, FDUTPA, FDCPA, false advertising, invasion of privacy, breach of contract, and more. No class was certified in any of these cases—even for purposes of settlement. This proven record of success alone distinguishes us from other firms.
Innovative, Strategic Lawyering: Our unparalleled track record of success in high stakes class actions is driven by innovative, best-in-class lawyering. Key to our success is understanding that class actions are generally won long before the certification stage, and that there are a variety of non-traditional ways to avoid class certification and the burdensome discovery that comes before it. WT thus looks for every way to win, at every stage in a case. This approach has led to numerous first-in-the-nation wins for our clients, often at the pleadings stage, including on novel constitutional grounds.
- Our lawyers have had great success uncovering fatal defects early in a case and using those defects to convince plaintiffs to walk away or accept a nuisance value settlement.
- We also have eliminated class actions early with motions to dismiss, motions to compel arbitration, motions for sanctions, and motions for summary judgment.
- We have also affirmatively moved to deny class certification early in the case—including at the pleadings stage—and won.
- For cases that proceed to discovery, we have an unmatched record of phasing or bifurcating discovery so we can challenge the plaintiff’s individual claims before our clients incur the expense of class discovery.
- And for cases that proceed to certification, our lawyers work tirelessly to make the best evidentiary showing for our clients.
Leading Lawyers: WT’s lawyers are widely recognized leaders in their fields. For example, Chambers and Partners recently ranked founding partner Ryan Watstein as a Band 1 litigator (the highest designation, only awarded to a few practices and lawyers). Law360 has similarly recognized Ryan has a Top Class Action Attorney Under 40. He has also been consistently recognized as a “Rising Star” by Georgia Super Lawyers and as one of Georgia’s “Legal Elite—Best Lawyers in Georgia” by Georgia Trend Magazine. Many other WT lawyers have achieved various similar recognitions, such as “associates to watch” from Chambers and Partner and Rising Stars from Superlawyers.
Leading Clients: Given our track record of success, household names in a variety of industries have trusted our lawyers to handle their high stakes class action matters, including in the telecommunications, hospitality, healthcare, financial services, and energy industries.
Nationwide Practice: Our attorneys litigate wherever our clients need them. That has taken us to federal and state courts across the country, including California, Florida, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Washington State, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee, among others.
Representative Matters: See below for just a few of the matters that highlight the tenacity and creativity of our consumer class action defense team in achieving the best results for our clients, often on novel grounds.
- Creasy v. Charter Comms., 489 F. Supp. 3d 499 (E.D. La. 2020) (granting first-in-the-nation motion to dismiss based on novel constitutional grounds in putative class action);
- May v. Longeviti Health LLC, 562 F. Supp. 3d 709 (C.D. Cal. 2021) (granting first-in-the-nation affirmative motion to deny certification on adequacy grounds);
- Sliwa v. Bright House Networks, LLC, 333 F.R.D. 255 (M.D. Fla. 2019) (denying class certification and adopting several novel arguments that other decisions have applied);
- Moledina v. Marriott International, Inc., __ F. Supp. 3d ___, 2022 WL 16630276 (C.D. Cal. 2022) (granting motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in first-in-nation order denying transfer of putative class action on ground that evidence showed individual claim lacked merit).
- Stewart v. Network Capital Funding Corp., 549 F. Supp. 3d 1058 (C.D. Cal. 2021) (granting first-in-the-nation dismissal of DNC class action at the pleading stage on Article III standing grounds).
- Valdes v. Nationwide Real Estate Executives, Inc., 2021 WL 2134159 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 22, 2021) (granting rare, potentially first-ever pleadings-stage dismissal with prejudice in TCPA class action on vicarious liability grounds).
- Cristales v. Scion Group LLC, 478 F.Supp.3d 845 (D. Ariz. 2020) (granting motion to compel arbitration on novel ground that defendant was third-party beneficiary of arbitration agreement).
