Day v. GEICO Casualty Company

Background

Jessica Day filed an unopposed motion to appoint Nichols Kaster, PLLP; Stephan Zouras, LLP; and The Sequoia Law Firm as interim class counsel in a COVID-19-related auto-insurance dispute.

Legal standard

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(g)(3), a court may appoint interim counsel to represent a proposed class before deciding whether to certify the class. Courts generally consider the factors used to assess whether class counsel would adequately represent the class, including counsel’s work investigating the claims, experience with class actions and similar litigation, knowledge of the applicable law, and the resources counsel will commit. The court may also consider other matters relevant to counsel’s ability to fairly and adequately represent the class.

Ruling

The court found that the proposed interim class counsel had dedicated substantial resources to the case, had extensive experience litigating complex class actions, understood the applicable law, and had the necessary resources to represent the class. Judge Beth Labson Freeman therefore granted the unopposed motion. The order appointed the three firms as interim class counsel; it did not decide whether the class should be certified.