Rule 23(b)(1) is the forgotten stepchild in Rule 23 jurisprudence. Rule 23(b)(3) gets attention because it’s where the money is. Rule 23(b)(2) is essential to civil rights groups seeking injunctions, and drew attention from plaintiffs’ lawyers seeking an end-run around what they viewed as Rule 23(b)(3)’s more stringent requirements. But case law on Rule 23(b)(1)(A)
Rule 23(b)(1)
Class Action Summer Camp – Rule 23(b)(1)
By The Editors on
Posted in Certification
Rule 23(b)(1) covers zero-sum games, situations where finding in favor of one class member would necessarily require finding against another class member later. This can be either because one class member would receive rights that would infringe on another’s rights (like in riparian rights cases), or because the damages fund is limited, so that…
Classic Cases – Amchem Prods., Inc. v. Windsor
By The Editors on
Posted in Certification, Settlement
There is no question that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes will be the most-cited case in class-action practice for years to come. But before Dukes, Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor was the Supreme Court’s definitive announcement of its interpretation of Rule 23 standards.
What’s interesting about the case is that it involved a class-action…
Time and Class Action Strategy – Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp.
By The Editors on
Posted in Settlement
Time is the ultimate budget constraint. Even the best of us only gets 24 hours a day. And sometimes, strategic decisions get made without perfect amounts of time. For class-action lawyers, this constraint is particularly clear in “rocket dockets” like the Eastern District of Virginia where deadlines are foreshortened and discovery can be massive.…