Daily Journal Publishes Article by Phillip Ebsworth and Gina Gi on Representative Evidence in Class Actions

Daily Journal (California) featured an article by Labor & Employment partner Phillip Ebsworth and associate Gina Gi: “Cortina serves as a cautionary tale in the use of representative evidence.” The piece, published on July 14, 2026, examines the California Court of Appeal’s decision in Cortina v. North American Title Company and its implications for the use of representative evidence in class action litigation.

The article highlights how Cortina reinforces longstanding principles requiring a workable trial plan and statistically sound methodologies when relying on representative evidence, while signaling a shift toward more rigorous scrutiny of classwide proof at every stage of litigation.

The authors emphasize the broader implications for litigants and courts alike:

“Cortina should serve as an instruction that courts should take a more rigorous and continuous approach to assessing the viability of class treatment. The failure to abide by these guardrails can result in years, if not decades, of litigation, massive expense and eventual reversal. Without a coherent and defensible plan for classwide proof via a statistically sound methodology, even the most formidable beast may find itself declawed.”

The full article is available here.