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On March 30, the NAM filed an amicus brief in the 9th Circuit arguing that courts must thoroughly evaluate expert evidence at the early stages of class actions to prevent suits based on questionable theories from moving forward. This case is a consumer class action involving allegations that the labels on the popular Fireball whisky and Fireball malt beverages are confusingly similar and have led customers to pay inflated prices for the malt beverage product. In attempting to prove the amount class members allegedly overpaid for each malt beverage, the plaintiffs’ expert proposed a hypothetical survey that ignored critical factors companies use to determine real world prices. Our amicus brief argues that Federal Rule of Evidence 702 requires courts to conduct a critical analysis of expert evidence at the class certification stage to prevent the certification of classes based on faulty theories, such as this one.