Will NJ Federal Courts Dismiss Class-Action Complaints At The Motion To Dismiss Stage?

In recent years, federal courts around the country have shifted their view on early motions to dismiss or strike class allegations. The courts are not wedded to the long-standing view that preemptive, pre-discovery motions to strike class allegations are premature. Often accompanying defendants' Rule 12 motions to dismiss, an early motion to strike class allegations can be, if successful, case determinative, saving substantial time, money and defendant resources. While many courts still fall back to the traditional rule, other courts have permitted proactive motions attacking class allegations at the beginning of a case to allow swift resolution of dubious class claims. A review of recent New Jersey federal court decisions considering early motions to strike class allegations shows that the law is clearly in flux and remains an area to monitor in the short term.

The federal rules offer several procedural avenues for attacking class allegations. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(1)(A) provides that the court must—"[a]t an early practicable time"—determine by order whether to certify the action as a class action. Further, Rule 12(f) permits a motion to strike "an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter." The federal rules also allow that a "court may issue orders that ... require that the pleadings be amended to eliminate allegations about representation of absent persons and that the action proceed accordingly." Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(d)(1)(D).

Movants inevitably face the defense that "[i]n most cases, some level of discovery is essential to [the class certification] evaluation." Landsman & Funk v. Skinder-Strauss Assocs., 640 F.3d 72, 93 n.30 (3d Cir. 2011) (holding that it is premature for a district court to decide class certification issues prior to discovery unless the "complaint itself demonstrates that the requirements for maintaining a class action cannot be met"). The need for precertification discovery, however, can give way when the insufficiency of class allegations is clearly apparent from the face of the complaint. Cipollone v. Liggett Grp., 789 F.2d 181, 188 (3d Cir. 1986) ("a court should not grant a motion to strike ... unless the insufficiency ... is clearly apparent." (internal quotes omitted)); Advanced Acupuncture Clinic v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2008 WL 4056244, at *7 (D.N.J. Aug. 26, 2008) ("A defendant may move to strike class allegations prior to discovery in rare cases where the complaint...