How Wal-Mart Can Help FDCPA Defendants Defeat Class Certification

Tomio Narita

Any debt collector faced with an FDCPA class action should read the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S.Ct. 2541 (2011) with care, because it provides a framework for potential challenges to class certification in FDCPA cases.

Dukes was not an FDCPA case, of course – it was a class action alleging that Wal-Mart had violated Title VII by employing a discretionary pay and promotion system that discriminated against women.  But Dukes provides a powerful reminder that class actions should only be certified in those rare cases where, after a rigorous analysis of the record, the court is satisfied that the plaintiff has met each of the detailed requirements for certification.  Dukes will also help FDCPA defendants oppose class certification based upon the lack of “commonality” of the claims of the class members.