PRACTITIONER BLOG
Read our analyses of developments in Impact Litigation and stay current on class action law
Impact Fund and Allies file Amicus Brief to rebuff defamation claims in Class Action litigation
The Impact Fund and amici focused on the panel’s misunderstanding of “ascertainability,” a term of art particular to class actions. Ascertainability is the implied prerequisite that a class be defined by clear and definite terms so that a court can determine who is bound by a judgment and who is entitled to relief. Critical to the issue at hand, ascertainability is a forward-looking inquiry, asking whether a court will be able to ascertain class membership at some future point in the litigation. It has never meant that plaintiffs know who is in the proposed class at the time of filing.
Mr. T and Rule 23: How Not to File a Class Action Against Facebook
A set of recently filed class actions against three big social media platforms are getting a lot of press and, of course, caught our eye. Constitutional scholars have already had lots to say about the legal theory in those cases but, as we said, we’re all about complex civil procedure – so we asked, “can these class actions fly?” We thought these new cases might offer some teachable moments for would-be class action lawyers who may be thinking they are ready to run the gauntlet of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, the rule that governs class actions in federal court.
Class Action Strategy and Practice Guide: A Must-Have For All Class Action Attorneys
Class actions involve decisions on strategy at every turn. The positions of the parties are constantly changing and counsel must always be looking ahead and, at the same time, carefully watching their flank. This book helps all practitioners and parties identify, analyze and answer key strategy questions. Ever evolving class action tactics, case law and rule make this insightful practice guide a must read for lawyers, judges, advocates and decision makers at every level.
Class Certification Does Not Require That Class Member Identification Be “Administratively Feasible."
Most people do not retain receipts for the myriad of food items and inexpensive consumer goods that they purchase each year. But, should this entirely understandable fact of modern life provide a license to corporations to defraud consumers who buy these products?
Black Workers Get Class Action Certification in Race Discrimination Case
The Western District of Washington recently certified a class of black workers asserting claims of race-based discrimination based on subjective decision-making in the hiring and firing process of workers at the Sound Transit “University Link” light-rail project. The case is Rollins v. Traylor Bros., Inc., No. C14-1414 JCC, 2016 WL 258523 (W.D. Wash. Jan. 21, 2016). After allegations of discrimination and harassment against black laborers at the Traylor Bros., Inc./Frontier-Kemper Joint Venture (“TFK”) site. Sound Transit hired an expert (Marcella Flemming Reed) to investigate...