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In a significant post-TransUnion decision for defendants litigating damages class actions, the Ninth Circuit held in Healy v. Milliman, Inc. that unnamed class members must produce evidence of Article III standing at the summary judgment stage. Healy provides defendants with another tool to challenge the class after certification.
In Healy, the district court certified a putative class of individuals alleging that the defendant inaccurately reported the class's medical and prescription histories to life insurers. After certification, the defendant moved for partial summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff could not show class-wide Article III standing. The district court agreed, holding that the plaintiff had failed to present sufficient evidence of concrete injury to the unnamed class members.
On appeal, the Ninth Circuit held that in damages class actions, both named and unnamed class members must produce evidence of Article III standing at the summary judgment stage — after certification but before trial. The court explained that TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez requires standing to be proven "with the manner and degree of evidence required at the successive stages of the litigation," and that unnamed class members may not defer the standing inquiry until individual damages are distributed.
Key Takeaways:
- Classwide standing is now a mandatory summary-judgment inquiry in Ninth Circuit damages class actions.
- Healy closes the door to arguments that unnamed class members can wait until an individualized claims or distribution process to prove injury.
- Healy aligns the Ninth Circuit more closely with the logic of TransUnion and provides defendants with a concrete procedural checkpoint to challenge class viability before trial.
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