In Comcast Corp. et al. v. Caroline Behrend et al., the U.S. Supreme Court will decide the standard that plaintiffs must satisfy to meet the Court’s requirement that, prior to certifying a class, the district court must find that admissible evidence supports the view that damages can be calculated on a class-wide basis.
The plaintiffs allege that Comcast has monopolized the cable television market. They contend that a district judge need only conclude that it is “more likely than not” that expert testimony will show that damages to class members can be calculated class-wide. The defendant Comcast contends that the district court did not do enough to ensure that the plaintiffs’ expert testimony was sufficient.
At oral argument, the Justices questioned the defendant had preserved the admissibility issue for appeal and whether the parties actually disagreed on the legal standard. A decision should be forthcoming in the next six months.