Lewis & Clark Law Review
First Page
747
Abstract
In this Note, the author discusses the true potential that digital media and technology hold for class actions beyond effectuating notice to members of a class. Ironically, just as challenges have mounted against the use of the class action device, digital technology has continued to advance in the background to a point where it may be used to break down barriers to class certification now facing would-be class plaintiffs.
However, much of the current discussion across law reviews and blogs as it relates to digital media and class actions pertains to the effect of digital media on notice. Not only are some proposed methods of digital notice flawed, the focus on notice overlooks the numerous other ways digital media and technology can support class actions. The author proposes that advances in digital media and technology may be used to solve recently erected barriers to class actions.
Specifically, mobile location and purchase data—as well as new digital media formats enabling immediate feedback from class members—may be used to supply the additional evidentiary proof now required of would-be class plaintiffs who must establish elements under Rule 23(a) and (b) beyond a mere pleading standard and before plaintiffs have had the benefit of full merits discovery. The potential cost savings from new methods of digital payment for claims administration will also be of particular relevance to small claims plaintiffs who must argue that the class device is superior despite resistance from defendants who may suggest that the cost to administer claims alone renders a class action inefficient, and thus, an inferior method of adjudicating claims.
Recommended Citation
Caroline Desmond,
The Transformative Potential of Digital Media & Technology on Class Actions,
23
Lewis & Clark L. Rev.
747
(2019).
Available at:
https://lawcommons.lclark.edu/lclr/vol23/iss2/8