Sport Utility Vehicle class action survey using conjoint analysis passes Daubert challenge

A class action lawsuit was filed in 2014 against a major US auto company on behalf of customers who had purchased a model of its sport utility vehicles. The case involved a safety-related defect. Applied Marketing Science (AMS) survey expert Steven Gaskin conducted market research and analysis to support the damages claim. To perform this analysis, AMS used choice-based conjoint analysis (CBC), a survey technique in which consumers are asked to trade off various product options they could consider in the buying situation. Conjoint analysis made it possible to calculate the difference in value between a product having a specific feature and a product lacking the feature. In December of 2015, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Florida, certified the case as a national class action. In April of 2016, the judge rejected the Defendants’ Daubert challenge.