News Briefs
The Best Lawyers in America 2026 Includes 140 Wilson Elser Attorneys
August 21, 2025
Client Wins
Client Wins
D.C. Class Action Team Prevails on Motion for Reconsideration: Court Concedes It Committed Clear Error in Certifying a Class Action
Washington, D.C. partners David Ross and Kevin P. Farrell and associate Daniel Coffman secured a rare acknowledgement from the District of Columbia Superior Court, which conceded it committed a clear error in previously certifying a class in a case related to vehicle repossession practices. The court had found that proposed class members suffered similar injuries based on an alleged practice of overcharging for repossession and vehicle storage and other actions taken after a customer’s default. Wilson Elser filed a motion contending that the court did not address issues presented in its Opposition to Class Certification. The court agreed, finding that a class cannot be certified for several reasons: (1) plaintiff lacks standing because her claims are based entirely on past conduct; (2) plaintiff cannot serve as class representative or a member of a class because her claims are time-barred; (3) arbitration and class waiver clauses in the plaintiff’s and proposed class member’s contracts preclude class certification; and (4) the court’s sua sponte reliance on a municipal regulation was misplaced.
David M. Ross, Kevin P. Farrell and Daniel R. Coffman
Farrell and Coffman Secure Dismissal of All Claims Against Military Defense Contractor
Kevin Farrell (Partner-Washington, DC) and Daniel Coffman (Associate-Washington, DC) prevailed on a motion to dismiss on behalf of a United States military defense contractor after a plaintiff attempted to add the contractor to a suit regarding the loss of plaintiff’s security clearance. The motion to dismiss demonstrated that the tortious interference and other claims against Wilson Elser’s client were barred by the statute of limitations. The plaintiff argued that several exceptions applied, including that his claims were timely because the D.C. Superior Court’s COVID-19 orders tolled the statute of limitations. While noting that the relevant orders were not a model of clarity, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed with Dan and Kevin’s concise analysis of the D.C. Superior Court’s COVID-19 orders, and found that the claims were time-barred. The court further determined that (1) the continuous tort doctrine does not apply to the plaintiff’s claims, (2) the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure’s joinder rules have no bearing on whether the plaintiff’s claims are timely, and (3) under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 the plaintiff’s claims did not “relate back” to his first complaint because his failure to timely add the contractor as a defendant was not the type of mistake Rule 15 was meant to remedy. All claims against Wilson Elser’s client were dismissed with prejudice.
Kevin P. Farrell and Daniel R. Coffman
Coffman, Das, Ross, Viergever and Williams Defeat Federal Data Breach Class Action
Daniel Coffman (Associate-Washington, DC), Anjali Das (Partner-Chicago, IL), David Ross (Partner-Washington, DC), Kim Viergever (Of Counsel-Denver, CO) and Ryan Williams (Partner-Denver, CO) obtained dismissal with prejudice of a federal data breach class action filed against a services vendor for mental health care providers in the District of Colorado. The case comprised eight consolidated class actions brought by 15 named plaintiffs that arose out of a ransomware incident that involved the personal information of almost 4.3 million individuals and included sensitive information such as health information and Social Security numbers. The court agreed that all of the named plaintiffs lack Article III standing, dissecting each of their alleged theories of harm and coming down on the side of the more reasoned courts that have found these types of theories fail to establish standing – public disclosure of private information, increased spam, diminution in value of PHI/PII, emotional distress and future harm. The court concluded that “Plaintiffs have failed to allege injuries in fact that are fairly traceable to the Defendants’ complained-of conduct,” and issued a judgment dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice and closing the case.
Daniel R. Coffman, Anjali C. Das, David M. Ross, Kimberly Viergever and Ryan A. Williams
Firm Highlights
© 2026 Wilson Elser. All Rights Reserved.