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Defendant Class Certification: The Difficulties Under Rule 23(B)(2) And The Rule 65(D) Solution, Diane Terrell

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Comment examines the difficulties of certifying a defendant class under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2) and the various approaches courts have taken to certify, or refuse to certify, those defendant classes. This Comment concludes that under normal circumstances, the plain language of Rule 23(b)(2) precludes the certification of defendant classes. However, the Comment further concludes that under limited circumstances Rule 65(d) may be used by a plaintiff to obtain injunctive relief which will bind unnamed defendant parties.