Chabak v. Somnia, Inc.
- Philip Halpern
- 7:22-cv-09341
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Chabak v. Somnia, Judge Halpern appointed Todd S. Garber and Jason Lichtman interim co-lead class counsel after consolidating related actions.
The putative class in the consolidated actions and the lawyers seeking appointment as interim class counsel; Todd S. Garber and Jason Lichtman were appointed interim co-lead class counsel.
What happened
In Chabak v. Somnia, Inc., the court consolidated six related cases into Chabak with the parties’ consent. The cases involved proposed class actions, and several groups of lawyers sought leadership roles.
The lawyers proposed different candidates for interim class counsel. The court considered their work investigating the claims, experience with complex and class-action litigation, knowledge of the law, and resources available to represent the class.
Judge Halpern appointed Todd S. Garber and Jason Lichtman as interim co-lead class counsel under Rule 23. The court also directed that a consolidated amended complaint be filed within 30 days.
The detailed version
- Chabak v. Somnia, Inc. · No. 7:22-cv-09341
- Philip Halpern
- Jan. 30, 2023
Background
The court was handling Chabak along with six related cases: Carrasco, Polk, Booth Harris, Weiscope, Henderson, and Sommers. On January 25, 2023, the court consolidated those six cases into Chabak, with all parties’ consent, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a).
The court also considered competing requests to appoint interim class counsel. Counsel in Chabak, Polk, Booth Harris, Weiscope, Henderson, and Sommers asked the court to choose two attorneys from James Bilsborrow, Gary M. Klinger, Jason Lichtman, and John A. Yanchunis. Counsel in Carrasco sought appointment of Todd S. Garber and Ben Barnow. The joint submission stated that all four attorneys in the first group had experience with the California-specific claims at issue and that James Bilsborrow and Jason Lichtman were New York attorneys. Todd S. Garber highlighted that he was the only White Plains lawyer among the applicants.
Legal standard
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 requires a court to determine at an early practicable time whether to certify a class and, if appropriate, appoint class counsel. Rule 23(g)(3) permits appointment of interim class counsel before a class-certification motion when representation of a proposed class is needed. Courts consider the Rule 23(g)(1)(A) factors, including the work counsel has done investigating the claims, counsel’s experience with class actions and other complex litigation, knowledge of the applicable law, and the resources counsel will commit to representing the class.
Ruling
The court found that all applicants had devoted substantial time and effort to identifying and investigating the claims in the seven complaints. It also found that all had significant experience with complex class-action litigation, including data-breach litigation; knowledge of the applicable law; and the financial and legal resources needed to represent the class.
After considering the total circumstances and selecting between the competing groups, the court concluded that Todd S. Garber of Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP, and Jason Lichtman of Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP were the appropriate choices. Judge Philip M. Halpern therefore ordered that Garber and Lichtman be appointed interim co-lead class counsel under Rule 23(g)(2). The court also ordered that the consolidated amended complaint be filed within 30 days of the order.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.