Many defense lawyers get particularly impassioned about adequacy in class actions; and I’m no exception. After all, adequacy ensures (or at least it is supposed to ensure) that a real plaintiff with a real injury–as opposed to lawyer with a LEXIS/NEXIS account and a hunger for fees–is bringing the case. In a recent article
preclusion
How to Oppose Abandoned Claims
By The Editors on
Posted in Certification
It’s a situation familiar to many class-action defendants: a plaintiff files a complaint with, say, ten causes of action. But, by the time the case reaches the certification stage, she’s voluntarily dismissed nine of them–including the ones that actually address the alleged harm–in favor of an attenuated theory that she thinks stands the best chance…
Smith v. Bayer Corp – Highlights from the Oral Argument
By The Editors on
Posted in Certification
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard argument in Smith v. Bayer Corp. The argument featured very active participation by the justices. The argument featured several very interesting moments:
Plaintiffs’ argument focused primarily on whether a collateral estoppel ruling on class certification deprives putative class members of due process.
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR: [Y]ou’re really arguing that
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Thorogood Followup: A Master Class in Plaintiffs’ Strategy
Paul Karlsgodt of Classactionblawg.com got there first (in a post that should win "Title of the Month" hands-down), but Judge Posner’s opinion yesterday denying rehearing (and announcing there will be no en banc rehearing) in Thorogood v. Sears Roebuck & Co. is still worth an extra post. Not just because Judge Posner discusses the…
Should the Defendant Challenge Adequacy? – Insight from Preclusion Doctrine
By The Editors on
Posted in Motions Practice
Debra Lynn Bassett recently published a discussion of the preclusive effect of class actions in the Brigham Young University Law Review. Her thesis is aimed at the theoretical justifications for allowing class actions to have preclusive effect, most of which she finds severely wanting. In general, her discussion does not have much practical use…