Extract from Don Beshada’s article “Data Science is Quickly Shifting What’s Best and Practicable: What Litigators and Judges Interpreting Rule 23 Should Know”
Under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, class counsel must provide the “best notice that is practicable under the circumstances.” The judiciary has long accepted a 70% or 80% reach calculation as the gold standard for this requirement. However, we are at a technological inflection point where data science is stretching the definition of what’s possible and shifting what constitutes practicable notice to the class.
As notice administration evolves, the challenge for the bar and the bench is ensuring that legacy check-the-box methods do not become a shield for administrative failure. True best practicable notice now requires a level of data discipline that moves beyond simple impressions toward meaningful participation.
This article will share what judges and class counsel today need to know about what data science has made possible—and the impacts when it isn’t properly leveraged.
