Philip Bobbitt v. Milberg LLP

Intervenor-plaintiff-appellant Lance La-ber appeals from the district court’s denial of the motion for class certification brought by named plaintiffs Philip Bobbitt and John Sampson in their malpractice lawsuit against defendant-appellee Milberg LLP and various other law firms and lawyers (collectively “Milberg”). Because the district court erred in holding that the law of each class member’s home state governed his or her individual claim, rather than the law of Arizona where the alleged malpractice occurred, we vacate the district court’s order and remand this case for further proceedings.

I. FACTS

A. The VALIC litigation

In 2001, Milberg, a national law firm specializing in class actions, filed a lawsuit in Arizona district court against Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, Inc. (“VALIC”), for alleged securities law violations. In January 2004, the district court certified a class of plaintiffs, a significant accomplishment in any class action litigation.

But things went downhill for Milberg and the class. Milberg failed to meet certain mandatory disclosure deadlines, and in August 2004, the district court struck the plaintiffs’ expert testimony and witness…