Mark Hanna Speaks on Class Certification at Human Trafficking Legal Center Convening
Murphy Anderson's Mark Hanna served as a panelist on "Strategies for Class Action Certification" at the Human Trafficking Legal Center's Annual Strategic Litigation Convening to Combat Forced Labor in Washington, D.C. Hanna joined Anna P. Prakash of Nichols Kaster and Dan Werner of Radford Scott LLP to discuss the obstacles trafficked and exploited workers face in bringing claims as a class under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA).
Hanna addressed a series of recent Fourth Circuit decisions that have narrowed permissible class definitions and raised the proof required at certification, including Stafford v. Bojangles' Restaurants, Mr. Dee's Inc. v. Inmar, Oliver v. Navy Federal Credit Union, and Overby v. Anheuser-Busch. Drawing on the firm's forced labor and wage theft litigation, Hanna discussed when a class action is the right vehicle for exploited workers, how to frame a class definition that will survive review, and what it now takes to establish a classwide damages model. The convening brought together plaintiffs' attorneys from across the country.
