Class Action Resources Contents:

• Leading U.S. Supreme Court Decisions on Class Actions
• Leading Court of Appeals Decisions on Class Certification Standards
• Selected Appellate Decisions on Class Action Fairness Act
• Federal and State Class Action Statutes and Rules

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Leading U.S. Supreme Court Decisions on Class Actions

• American Pipe & Constr. Co. v. Utah, 414 U.S. 538 (1974): tolling of statutes of limitations during pendency of class actions
• Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156 (1974): class action notice requirements
• Sosna v. Iowa, 419 U.S. 393 (1975): standing requirement for named plaintiff
• Gen. Tel. Co. of the Southwest v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147 (1982): class certification standard; commonality
• Amchem Prods., Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591 (1997): certification of settlement classes; predominance; adequacy of representation
• Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp., 527 U.S. 815 (1999): settlement of limited fund class under Rule 23(b)(1)(B)
• Devlin v. Scardelletti, 536 U.S. 1 (2002): standing of unnamed class member to appeal from approval of class action settlement
• Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Servs., Inc., 545 U.S. 546 (2005): application of amount-in-controversy requirement for traditional diversity jurisdiction in class action (prior to Class Action Fairness Act)
• Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 127 S. Ct. 1955 (2007): pleading requirements applicable to class actions (see also Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937 (2009))
• Shady Grove Orthopedic Assocs. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 130 S. Ct. 1431 (2010):  applicability in federal court in diversity jurisdiction case of state statute barring or limiting certain class actions
• Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp., 130 S. Ct. 1758 (2010): whether class action arbitration is available where arbitration agreement is silent with respect to class actions
• AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion, No. 09-893 (U.S. Apr. 27, 2011):  arbitration agreement with class action waiver is enforceable; state law on unconscionability is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (blog post)
• Smith v. Bayer Corp., No. 09-1205 (U.S. June 16, 2011): Anti-Injunction Act generally bars federal court from enjoining non-named putative class members from seeking class certification in state court after a denial of class certification on the same issue in federal court (blog post)
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, No. 10-277 (U.S. June 20, 2011): explains standard for class certification, including overlap with merits; addresses commonality requirement for class certification; addresses review of expert testimony on class certification; holds that individual monetary damages are not available under Rule 23(b)(2) (blog post)

Leading Court of Appeals Decisions on Class Certification Standards

• First Circuit: In re New Motor Vehicles Canadian Export Antitrust Litig., 522 F.3d 6 (1st Cir. 2008); Smilow v. Southwestern Bell Mobile Sys., Inc., 323 F. 3d 32 (1st Cir. 2003)
• Second Circuit: In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litig., 471 F. 3d 24 (2d Cir. 2006)
• Third Circuit: In re Hydrogen Peroxide Antitrust Litig., 552 F. 3d 305 (3d Cir. 2009)
• Fourth Circuit: Gariety v. Grant Thornton, LLP, 368 F. 3d 356 (4th Cir. 2004)
• Fifth Circuit: Unger v. Amedisys Inc., 401 F. 3d 316 (5th Cir. 2005); Castano v. American Tobacco Co., 84 F. 3d 734 (5th Cir. 1996)
• Sixth Circuit: Reeb v. Ohio Dep’t of Rehab. & Correction, 435 F. 3d 639 (6th Cir. 2006)
• Seventh Circuit: Szabo v. Bridgeport Machines, Inc., 249 F. 3d 672 (7th Cir. 2001)
• Eighth Circuit: Blades v. Monsanto Co., 400 F. 3d 56 (8th Cir. 2005)
• Ninth Circuit: Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 603 F. 3d 571 (9th Cir. 2010) (en banc), cert. granted, 131 S. Ct. 795 (2010)
• Tenth Circuit:  Vallario v. Vandehey, 554 F. 3d 1259 (10th Cir. 2009); Shook v. Board of County of El Paso, 543 F. 3d 597 (10th Cir. 2008)
• Eleventh Circuit: Vega v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., 564 F. 3d 1256 (11th Cir. 2009)

Selected Appellate Decisions on Class Action Fairness Act

• First Circuit:  Amoche v. Guarantee Trust Life Ins. Co., 556 F.3d 41 (1st Cir. 2009) (burden of proof); College of Dental Surgeons of Puerto Rico v. Connecticut Gen. Life Ins. Co., 585 F.3d 33 (1st Cir. 2009) (whether inadequacy of class definition can prevent removal); In re Hannaford Bros. Customer Data Security Breach Litig., 564 F.3d 75 (1 st Cir. 2009) (home state exception to CAFA).
• Second Circuit:  Blockbuster, Inc. v. Galeno, 472 F.3d 53 (2d Cir. 2006) (burden of proof); DiTolla v. Doral Dental IPA of New York, 469 F. 3d 271 (2d Cir. 2006) (burden of proof).
• Third Circuit:  Kaufman v. Allstate New Jersey Ins. Co., 561 F.3d 144 (3d Cir. 2009) (local controversy exception to CAFA); Frederico v. Home Depot, 507 F. 3d 188 (3d Cir. 2007) (burden of proof); Morgan v. Gay, 471 F. 3d 469 (3d Cir. 2006) (burden of proof; plaintiff’s attempt to limit recovery below $5 million).
• Fourth Circuit:  Ferrell v. Express Check Advance of SC LLC, 591 F.3d 698 (4th Cir. 2010) (unincorporated association provision of CAFA); Palisades Collections LLC v. Shorts, 552 F.3d 327 (4th Cir. 2008) (party added as counterclaim defendant cannot remove); Strawn v. AT&T Mobility LLC, 530 F.3d 293 (4th Cir. 2008) (burden of proof).
• Fifth Circuit:  Louisiana ex rel. Caldwell v. Allstate Ins. Co., 536 F.3d 418 (5th Cir. 2008) (applicability of CAFA’s “mass action” provision and Eleventh Amendment issues in putative class action filed by a state); In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litig., 524 F.3d 700 (5th Cir. 2008) (applicability of CAFA’s “minimal diversity” requirement and Eleventh Amendment issues in putative class action filed by a state); Preston v. Tenet Healthsystem Memorial Med. Ctr., 485 F.3d 804 (5th Cir. 2007) (burden of proof; local controversy exception).
• Sixth Circuit:  Freeman v. Blue Ridge Paper Prods., Inc., 551 F.3d 405 (6th Cir. 2008) (improper structuring of suits by plaintiffs to attempt to keep amount in controversy below $5 million); Smith v. Nationwide Property & Cas. Ins. Co., 505 F.3d 401 (6th Cir. 2007) (burden of proof).
• Seventh Circuit: Back Doctors, Ltd. v. Metropolitan Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., No. 11-8003, __ F.3d __ (7th Cir. Apr. 1, 2011);  Brill v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 427 F.3d 446 (7th Cir. 2005) (burden of proof on amount in controversy); Cunningham Charter Corp. v. Learjet, Inc., 592 F.3d 805 (7th Cir. 2010) (denial of class certification does not divest federal court of jurisdiction); In re Sprint Nextel Corp., 593 F.3d 669 (7th Cir. 2010) (home state exception); Bullard v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Ry. Co., 535 F.3d 759 (7th Cir. 2008) (mass action provision); Hart v. FedEx Ground Package Sys. Inc., 457 F.3d 675 (7th Cir. 2006) (home state and local controversy exceptions).
• Eighth Circuit:  Bell v. Hershey Co., 557 F.3d 953 (8th Cir. 2009) (burden of proof); Westerfeld v. Independent Processing, LLC, 621 F. 3d 819 (8th Cir. 2010) (local controversy exception); Saab v. Home Depot USA, Inc., 469 F. 3d 758 (8th Cir. 2006) (scope of appellate review under CAFA).
• Ninth Circuit:  Abrego v. Dow Chemical Co., 443 F.3d 676 (9th Cir. 2006) (burden of proof); Lewis v. Verizon Communications Inc., 627 F. 3d 395 (9th Cir. 2010) (burden of proof); Coleman v. Estes Express Lines, Inc., No. 10-56852 (9th Cir. Jan. 25, 2011) (local controversy exception); United Steel, Paper & Forestry, Rubber, Mfg., Energy, Allied Undus. & Serv. Workers Int’l Union v. Shell Oil Co., 602 F.3d 1087 (9th Cir. 2010) (denial of class certification does not divest federal courts of jurisdiction under CAFA); Tanoh v. Dow Chem. Co., 561 F.3d 945 (9th Cir. 2009) (mass action provision).
• Tenth Circuit:  Coffey v. Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold, 581 F.3d 1240 (10th Cir. 2009) (local controversy exception).
• Eleventh Circuit:  Pretka v. Kolter City Plaza II, Inc., 608 F.3d 744 (11th Cir. 2010) (burden of proof); Lowery v. Alabama Power Co., 483 F.3d 1184 (11th Cir. 2007) (burden of proof).
• D.C. Circuit:  No notable opinions.

Federal and State Class Action Statutes and Rules

• Here you will find a listing of State and Federal Class Action Statutes and Rules (PDF).