As highlighted in my June 16 blog post, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari, in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, No. 14-857 (SCOTUSblog page), to decide whether an offer of complete relief to a named plaintiff renders a putative class action moot. Notwithstanding that the Supreme Court is about to decide this question (with oral argument scheduled on October 14), the Fifth and Seventh Circuits both recently weighed in on it, and both ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. Some commentators have suggested that these decisions make it likely that the Supreme Court will rule for the plaintiff in Campbell-Ewald. I tend to disagree because the Fifth and Seventh Circuits were construing Rule 68, and Campbell-Ewald presents the issue not merely under Rule 68. but also in the context of a tender of full relief by the defendant independent of Rule 68. I suspect that the focus in Campbell-Ewald will be on the fact that a court logically must be able to bring an end to litigation where the defendant is willing to throw in the towel, and whether a class action can still proceed where the defendant has tendered full relief to a named plaintiff (independent of Rule 68). The Seventh Circuit, while ruling in favor of the plaintiff, highlights some of these remaining questions, which the Supreme Court might address, or might leave for another day.

In Hooks v. Landmark Industries, Inc., No. 14-20496, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 14116 (5th Cir. Aug. 12, 2015), a putative class action under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the defendant made an offer of judgment to the named plaintiff under Rule 68, which was not accepted and expired. There was a dispute over whether the offer was for complete relief, but the Fifth Circuit found it unnecessary to decide that because, even if complete relief was offered, the case was not moot. The Fifth Circuit relied on the fact that Rule 68 expressly states that “[a]n unaccepted offer is considered withdrawn,” and on Justice Kagan’s dissenting opinion in Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk. The  Fifth Circuit further explained that “[t]he court is not deprived of the ability to enter relief—and thus the claim is not mooted—when a named plaintiff in a putative class action rejects a settlement offer from the defendant.” Id. at *13. The Fifth Circuit did not address, however, the broader question (which was not before the court) of what happens when a defendant simply tenders complete relief to the named plaintiff, and whether a named plaintiff can still properly represent a class in that circumstance.

Chapman v. First Index, Inc., Nos.  14-2773 & 14-2775, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 13767 (7th Cir. Aug. 6, 2015) was another case involving a Rule 68 offer of judgment to the named plaintiff. The Seventh Circuit overruled its own prior precedent and agreed with Justice Kagan’s dissent in Genesis Healthcare that “an expired (and unaccepted) offer of a judgment does not satisfy the Court’s definition of mootness, because relief remains possible.” Id. at *7. But what I found most interesting from a defense perspective was Judge Easterbrook’s comments about how defendants might well have a good argument, but mootness is the wrong way to frame the argument. Judge Easterbrook suggested that “[f]ailure to accept a fully compensatory offer also may suggest that the plaintiff is a bad representative of the class, for he has nothing to gain (implying poor incentives to monitor counsel) and may have given up something the class values (here, an injunction that would have stopped any further improper faxing).” Id. at *8.  Judge Easterbrook also suggested that there is a question about “whether a spurned offer of complete compensation should be deemed an affirmative defense, perhaps in the nature of an estoppel or a waiver.” Id. at *9. And “Why should a judge do legal research and write an opinion on what may be a complex issue when the plaintiff can have relief for the asking? Opinions are supposed to be the by-products of real disputes.” Id. at *11. These are all arguments that defendants should consider making. Some of this may be addressed in Campbell-Ewald – they are not all squarely before the Court, but the Court often addresses the broader context of the issue before it. Or these questions may be left for another day.

Tags: Fifth Circuit, Seventh Circuit
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Photo of Wystan Ackerman Wystan Ackerman

I am a partner at the law firm of Robinson+Cole in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.  My contact information is on the contact page of my blog.  I really enjoy receiving questions, comments, suggestions and even criticism from readers.  So please e-mail me if you…

I am a partner at the law firm of Robinson+Cole in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.  My contact information is on the contact page of my blog.  I really enjoy receiving questions, comments, suggestions and even criticism from readers.  So please e-mail me if you have something to say.  For those looking for my detailed law firm bio, click here.  If you want a more light-hearted and hopefully more interesting summary, read on:

People often ask about my unusual first name, Wystan.  It’s pronounced WISS-ten.  It’s not Winston.  There is no “n” in the middle.  It comes from my father’s favorite poet, W.H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden.  I’ve grown to like the fact that because my name is unusual people tend to remember it better, even if they don’t pronounce it right (and there is no need for anyone to use my last name because I’m always the only Wystan).

I grew up in Deep River, Connecticut, a small town on the west side of the Connecticut River in the south central part of the state.  I’ve always had strong interests in history, politics and baseball.  My heroes growing up were Abraham Lincoln and Wade Boggs (at that time the third baseman for the Boston Red Sox).  I think it was my early fascination with Lincoln that drove me to practice law.  I went to high school at The Williams School in New London, Connecticut, where I edited the school newspaper, played baseball, and was primarily responsible for the installation of a flag pole near the school entrance (it seemed like every other school had one but until my class raised the money and bought one at my urging, Williams had no flag pole).  As a high school senior, my interest in history and politics led me to score high enough on a test of those subjects to be chosen as one of Connecticut’s two delegates to the U.S. Senate Youth Program, which further solidified my interest in law and government.  One of my mentors at Williams was of the view that there were far too many lawyers and I should find something more useful to do, but if I really had to be a lawyer there was always room for one more.  I eventually decided to be that “one more.”  I went on to Bowdoin College, where I wrote for the Bowdoin Orient and majored in government, but took a lot of math classes because I found college math interesting and challenging.  I then went to Columbia Law School, where I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the minions who spent their time fastidiously cite-checking and Blue booking hundred-plus-page articles in the Columbia Law Review.  I also interned in the chambers of then-Judge Sonia Sotomayor when she was a relatively new judge on the Second Circuit, my only connection to someone who now has one-ninth of the last word on what constitutes the law of our land.  I graduated from Columbia in 2001, then worked at Skadden Arps in Boston before returning to Connecticut and joining Robinson+Cole, one of the largest Connecticut-based law firms.  At the end of 2008, I was elected a partner at Robinson+Cole.

I’ve worked on class actions since the start of my career.  Being in the insurance capital of Hartford, we have a national insurance litigation practice and most of the class actions I’ve defended have been brought against insurance companies. I’ve also handled some involving products liability, managed care, health care, utilities, financial services, higher education and environmental issues.

My insurance class action practice usually takes me outside of Connecticut.  I’ve had the pleasure of working on cases in various federal and state courts and collaborating with great lawyers across the country.  While class actions are an increasingly large part of my practice, I don’t do exclusively class action work.  The rest of my practice involves litigating insurance coverage cases, often at the appellate level.  That also frequently takes me outside of Connecticut.  A highlight of my career thus far was working on Standard Fire Ins. Co. v. Knowles, the U.S. Supreme Court’s first Class Action Fairness Act case.  I was Counsel of Record for Standard Fire on the cert petition, and had the pleasure of working with Ted Boutrous on the merits briefing and oral argument.

I started this blog because writing is one of my favorite things to do and I enjoy following developments in class action law, writing about them and engaging in discussion with others who have an in interest in this area.  It’s a welcome break from day-to-day practice, keeps me current, broadens my network and results in some new business.

When I’m not at work, you might find me running lines or watching a musical with my teenage daughter who hopes to be a Broadway star (or taking her to voice or dance lessons) or reading a good book.

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