It’s summertime, when kids attend camp. We tell ourselves this is play, but a lot of camps focus intensively on building up certain skills. This summer, Class Action Countermeasures will be doing the same thing, presenting a number of posts that introduce you to the very basics of class-action practice. (For those who read my post a few weeks ago about cutting down the costs of legal education, consider this a first stab at the case syllabus I was talking about.)  Like in most summer camps, you’ll have to do a fair amount of the work yourself.  I am not going to weave your lanyards for you.  But I will provide you with the raw materials.  

I have a selfish personal reason for trying out Class Action Summer Camp as well. My daughter is due to be born on July 6. I have a creeping suspicion that this might disrupt my schedule a little. So, to ensure regularity of posting, it made sense to have a few posts in the can. Enjoy!

Numerosity and Ascertainability.

In very simple terms, numerosity asks if the problem is large enough to justify a class action. Ascertainability asks whether there is an identifiable group to which the court can grant relief. Of course, the issues are more complicated than these single-sentence summaries.

Ten Cases to Bring You Up to Speed:

• Vega v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., 564 F.3d 1256 (11th Cir. 2009).
• Trevizio v. Adams, 455 F.3d 1155 (10th Cir. 2006)
• Oshana v. Coca-Cola Co., 472 F.3d 506 (7th Cir. 2006).
• Golden v. City of Columbus, 404 F.3d 950 (6th Cir. 2005).
• Adushanas v. Negley, 626 F.2d 600 (7th Cir. 1980).
  
• Khalif L. v. City of Union City, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64567 (N.D. Cal. 2012) .
• B.N. v. Murphy, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110370, *23 (N.D. Ind. Sep. 27, 2011).
• Kemblesville HHMO Center LLC v. Landhope Realty Co., 2011, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83324 (E.D. Pa. Jul. 28, 2011).
• Xavier v. Philip Morris USA, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42335 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 18, 2011).
• Huntley v. Law Office of Richard Clark, 262 F.R.D. 203, 204 (E.D.N.Y. 2009).
  

Further Reading:

• Richard Epstein, Class Actions: Aggregation, Amplification, and Disortion, 2003 U. Chi. Legal F. 475.
• Alexandra Lahav, The Optimal Size of Class Actions.
• Richard Nagareda, Embedded Aggregation in Civil Litigation.

Questions About Numerosity & Ascertainability:

• Do the twin issues of "fail-safe" and "overbroad" class definitions represent a balancing act or a trap for plaintiffs?
• How much evidence does a plaintiff need to present that her class is sufficiently numerous?
• What does "impracticable" mean?