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Deborah Renner focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, including the defense of consumer fraud and securities class actions. Deborah leads BakerHostetler’s class action practice in New York and is co-editor of BakerHostetler’s Class Action Lawsuit Defense blog.

Deborah has successfully defended numerous companies in nationwide, multidistrict and state class actions alleging, among other things, common law fraud, negligence, breach of contract, securities claims, data breach, products liability, violations of consumer protection statutes, antitrust violations, RICO and ERISA. She has defeated class certification in courts around the country and has won the dismissal of class claims at the outset of numerous actions. Just before joining BakerHostetler in 2009, she won the complete dismissal of a securities fraud class action alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Medis Investor Group v. Medis Technologies, Ltd., 586 F.Supp.2d 136 (S.D.N.Y. 2008), aff’d, 2009 WL 2171277 (2d Cir. July 21, 2009).

Deborah has defended insurance companies in litigation concerning increased long-term care rates, “vanishing premiums,” as well as in other suits concerning consumer fraud. She was instrumental in obtaining summary judgment in a putative class action concerning alleged fraud in the pricing of long-term care insurance. Rakes v. Life Investors Ins. Co. of America, 2008 WL 2158717 (N.D. Iowa June 20, 2008), aff’d, 2009 WL 2981976 (8th Cir. Sept. 18, 2009). Deborah also has won the dismissal of numerous “opt-out” cases stemming from the settlement of a multidistrict class action.

In addition to her class action work, Deborah is experienced in SEC and other regulatory investigations.

Since 2009, Deborah has been a lead attorney on the BakerHostetler team that serves as Counsel to the SIPA Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS), working on the global investigation of the Madoff Ponzi scheme—the largest financial fraud in history—and related litigations seeking recoveries for the BLMIS Customer Fund. She is responsible for, among other things, enforcing the automatic bankruptcy stay and obtaining injunctions to stop class action and other litigation from proceeding both internationally and within the United States. Reported decisions in which Deborah has participated include: Picard v. Fox, 429 B.R. 423 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2011), aff’d, In re Madoff, 2012 WL 990829 (S.D.N.Y. March 26, 2012); Picard v. Stahl, 443 B.R. 295 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2011), aff’d, In re Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, 2011 WL 7981599 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 2, 2011), aff'd, The Lautenberg Found. v. Picard, 2013 WL 616269 (2d Cir. Feb. 20, 2013); Picard v. Maxam Absolute Return Fund, L.P., 460 B.R. 106 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2011), aff’d, 2012 WL 1570859 (S.D.N.Y. May 4, 2012); and In re Bernard L. Madoff, slip op. (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. June 20, 2012).

Deborah taught class action law at Fordham University Law School from 2002 to 2006. She is a 2011 and 2012 “Super Lawyer” in the Class Action/Mass Torts category.

Deborah’s pro bono work focuses on gay and lesbian rights. She also sits on the advisory board of the Brooklyn Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Project.

Class Action Lawsuit Defense Blog Posts

• “Supreme Court Rejects Effort to Avoid CAFA Jurisdiction” (March 20, 2013)
• “Supreme Court Hears AMEX Class Arbitration Case” (March 14, 2013)
• “A Big Week for the Securities Bar: Amgen and Gabelli” (March 13, 2013)
• “Amgen Argument Points Up Split in Supreme Court on Class Certification Versus Merits Issues” (November 30, 2012)
• “Class Arbitration Waivers: Supreme Court to Hear AMEX Case” (November 19, 2012)
• “Supreme Court to Consider Rights of Absent Class Members in CAFA Case” (September 7, 2012)
• “Third Circuit Vacates Certification in Run-Flat Tires Case” (August 13, 2012)
• “Seventh Circuit Orders Vacatur of Injunction” (May 2, 2012)
• “Class Cannot Be Certified in Facebook Advertiser ‘Click’ Litigation Because Alleged Contract Does Not Exist” (April 17, 2012)
• “Third Circuit Distinguishes Stolt-Nielsen and Allows Class Arbitration” (April 4, 2012)
• “Data Breach Class Action Against Google Allowed to Proceed Under Stored Communications Act” (April 2, 2012)
• “In Contrast to Wal-Mart, Seventh Circuit Allows Issue Certification” (March 1, 2012)
• “Second Circuit Holds Separate Class Representatives With Separate Counsel Required Under Amchem and Ortiz” (January 2, 2012)

Publications and Presentations

• “Class Action Certification Following the Amgen and Comcast Decisions,” Strafford webinar (April 24, 2013)
• “Limits of Class Representation Prior to Class Counsel Appointment,” Strafford webinar (December 18, 2012)
• “Class Certification After Wal-Mart v. Dukes,” presented to American Council of Life Insurers (December 13, 2012)
• “Issue Certification after Wal-Mart,” Strafford webinar (September 18, 2012)
• “Recent Developments in Class Action Law,” 12th Annual Consumer Financial Services Litigation Institute, Practising Law Institute, Col. 1, 85-140 (2007)
• “Class Action Defense and the Interplay Between State Regulatory Investigation and the Federal Judicial Process: Strategies and Procedures in Life Insurance Sales Practices Cases,” SB81 ALI-ABA 89 (1997)