![]() ![]() ![]() In Wal-Mart Stores, Inc v Dukes, the Supreme Court held that such a rigorous analysis will frequently entail some overlap with the merits of the plaintiffs’ underlying claim. Today, the “rigorous standard” is applicable to review class action certification and determine to what extent Courts should consider the merits of plaintiffs’ claims to decide whether Rule 23’s requirements are met. Rule 23(b)(3) requires the court to find that “questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual members.” In other words, the court analyzes whether questions of law or fact common to the members of the class will predominate over any questions affecting only individual members, making class treatment an efficient way to resolve the common questions for all members of the class in a single adjudication. This Rule is often called the “predominance rule” and requires that: (i) questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting individual members, and (ii) that a class action is superior to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy. The most common one is Rule 23(b)(3)-classes seeking monetary damages. Once an action complies with all four conditions under Rule 23(a), a class action must also satisfy at least one of the three requirements of Rule 23(b). Rule 23(b)(3): Predominance and Superiority ![]() Courts also analyze the adequacy of counsel. Lastly, the adequacy requirement determines whether the interests and incentives among the plaintiffs and the rest of the class are aligned, or if, by contrast, the class action is not in the interests of all class members. Third, to determine typicality the courts consider to what extent plaintiffs’ claims are markedly different or are generally the same (for instance arising from the same event or pattern) as those of other class members with respect to the relevant legal theory and factual circumstances of the case. ![]() the capacity of a class wide proceeding to generate common answers apt to drive the resolution of the litigation.” Instead, a court deciding the commonality of factual issues must rigorously analyze the plaintiffs’ contention that these issues can be proven on a class wide basis: “hat matters. 2541 (2011), merely reciting a list of common questions is not enough to show commonality. Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Others have concluded that no fixed number of class members is sufficient, and that the court must consider other factors such as geographical dispersion or the nature of the action. Rule 23(a): Numerosity, commonality, typicality and adequacyįederal Rule of Civil Procedure, Rule 23(a) provides that an action requires four conditions to qualify for class treatment: (i) the class must be so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, (ii) there must be questions or law or fact common to the class, (iii) the claims of the representative parties must be typical of the claims of the class, and (iv) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.įirst, some courts have held that numerosity is usually established when there are at least 40 class members. Important Note: In class-action litigation, Bona Law represents only defendants and certain opt-out plaintiffs. You can read here about how to defend against class certification in an antitrust lawsuit. That, in fact, is the point of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and class actions generally-to allow relief when the aggregate harm is great but the individual harm is miniscule. And since each member usually only has damages of a few dollars or less, litigation just doesn’t make sense. Thus, if the court denies plaintiffs’ motion to certify a class, each individual plaintiff must sue ( read here about appealing a class certification decision). In a class action lawsuit, an attorney representing certain named class members litigates on behalf of other class members, who may become bound by the outcome of the litigation process.Īn antitrust class action usually alleges some form conduct that is a “per se” antitrust violation, such as a price-fixing conspiracy or market-allocation agreement, in which the damages are small for each class member, but often large in the aggregate. ![]()
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