One of the reasons that companies hate class actions is that, win or lose, the defense costs are often enormous. Usually, it's discovery that leads to eye-popping numbers on the bills—whether from law firms themselves, contract attorneys, or e-discovery vendors. But defendants have an often overlooked tool for attempting to avoid costs related to discovery—the pre-discovery motion to strike class allegations.
My recent article, Control Class Action Costs by Filing an Early Motion to Strike the Class Allegations (pdf), explains the authority for such motions and the types of arguments that tend to work best for attacking the class allegations on the pleadings. Thanks to Bloomberg BNA Class Action Litigation Report for publishing the article.
Edited by
Archis A. Parasharami 
and
Kevin S. Ranlett
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