PRACTITIONER BLOG

Read our analyses of developments in Impact Litigation and stay current on class action law

RESPONDING TO THE RESTRICTION OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION CLASS ACTIONS
Class Actions, Employment Discrimination Teddy Basham-Witherington Class Actions, Employment Discrimination Teddy Basham-Witherington

RESPONDING TO THE RESTRICTION OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION CLASS ACTIONS

The arc of employment discrimination class action law is bending away from justice. As a result, plaintiffs’ lawyers frequently have to self-censor, generally in the opening complaint or the class certification motion, or as we did in Simpson at the 23(f) stage. Maximizing the chances for certification may require defining the class or multiple small classes so as to eliminate potential class members, claims, or forms of relief. Unfortunately, this type of self-censorship deprives employees of the possibility of obtaining the types of broad reforms that we were once able to achieve and hopefully can again pursue in the future as the law evolves.

Read More
SCOTUS Rules on Class Action Tolling in China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh
Class Action Tolling, Class Actions Teddy Basham-Witherington Class Action Tolling, Class Actions Teddy Basham-Witherington

SCOTUS Rules on Class Action Tolling in China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh

The Court’s decision, in our opinion, is a grave departure from the goals of efficiency and economy inherent to class actions. Requiring plaintiffs to preemptively file multiple actions unnecessarily burdens the judiciary and clogs the system with duplicative cases. The Court’s decision also is at odds with what we regard as the reality of modern class actions in that many do not have a final decision on class certification within two or four years, for reasons outside the named plaintiff’s control. Necessary discovery, taxed courts, appeals, and recalcitrant defendants all slow the process and often prevent the parties from obtaining a final ruling on class certification within the first few years. In addition, orders denying class certification may identify remediable issues that can be addressed only by filing a new action. This week’s ruling prohibits plaintiffs who initially timely filed their case from filing those new actions if the court’s class certification order arrives outside the original statute of limitations. 

Read More