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Last Friday, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund, Inc. v Halliburton Co. This is the fourth certiorari grant this term for a class action.

So what’s the issue in this case? Loss causation. In securities cases, plaintiffs are often allowed to rely on a theory called "fraud on the market," which requires the court to presume that shareholders relied on any false information that was introduced to an efficient securities market. The "fraud on the market" theory is a powerful tool for class action plaintiffs. When applied, it makes certification of … Continue Reading

In re Hydrogen Peroxide was an antitrust class action. Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical that is often used a bleach for pulp and paper. In this case, the plaintiffs, all purchasers of hydrogen peroxide and other chemicals, sued their suppliers, alleging that the defendants had sold them more expensive chemical grades when less expensive ones would have been sufficient.

Following extensive discovery, 3 plaintiffs moved to certify a class of direct purchasers of hydrogen peroxide, sodium perborate, and sodium percarbonate, over an eleven-year class period. In support of class certification, plaintiffs offered the opinion of an economist. Defendants, opposing

… Continue Reading

Are courts making class certification too easy for defendants to oppose? San Francisco law professor Joshua P. Davis (this one, not this one) and Berger & Montague shareholder Eric Cramer argue just that in an forthcoming article in the Rutgers Law Journal, “Of Vulnerable Monopolists?: Questionable Innovation in the Standard for Class Certification in Antitrust Cases.”

The article critiques those appellate decisions – most notably In re Hydrogen Peroxide Antitrust Litigation – that have ruled that a court “must make whatever factual and legal inquiries are necessary and must consider all relevant evidence and … Continue Reading