Dive Brief:
- ‘Reverse’ discrimination claims may pose a class-action threat, management-side attorneys have warned. That prediction comes as class-action lawsuit settlements totaled more than $40 billion for the third year in a row, according to Duane Morris LLP’s Class Action Review 2025, released Jan. 7.
- The total value of the top 10 highest settlements in each class-action area hit $42 billion in 2024, marking the third highest value recorded by the firm in the past two decades. In 2023, settlements reached $51.4 billion, and in 2022, settlements hit $66 billion. The firm analyzed more than 1,441 class-action decisions made in 2024.
- “Combined, the past three years reflect use of the class action litigation process to redistribute wealth at an unprecedented level,” the firm said. “These numbers explain why we are continuing to see growth in the class action space, where the plaintiffs’ class action bar is clamoring to identify the next ‘tort of the day’ to cash in on this veritable lottery.”
Dive Insight:
One area with a “flood of claims” was in class-action lawsuits targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admission, the firm said.
In these cases, “employees and applicants accus[ed] employers of prioritizing diversity over merit and improperly using protected characteristics to guide decision-making,” the review said.
More such claims could be coming, depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court resolves a federal circuit split on whether members of a majority group need to meet a higher burden of proof in alleging “reverse discrimination,” the firm said.
“With a robust pro-plaintiff litigation environment, it is clear that class action litigation represents an increased financial risk for companies,” said Duane Morris partner Gerald L. Maatman Jr., co-author of the review and chair of the firm’s class-action defense practice team. “Plus, we are seeing the class action landscape as increasingly plaintiff-friendly in key areas, including data privacy and data breaches, and diversity and ESG initiatives.”
Plaintiffs filed the most data breach class-actions lawsuits recorded yet and doubled the number filed in 2022, the review found. Of those, courts only issued five class certification decisions in 2024, meaning motions either remain in the pipeline or plaintiffs are choosing to monetize their claims before certification.
“So long as defendants continue to play ball on the settlement front, we are likely to see settlement payouts continue to lure plaintiffs to this space and fuel those filing numbers,” Duane Morris said.
