Law Commons^™

Class Action Defendants' New Lochnerism,, Mark Moller

College of Law Faculty

In the much-watched Dukes v. Walmart, Walmart has advanced a deceptively compelling claim: Due process, Walmart says, guarantees it the right to mount a “full defense” based on “any relevant rebuttal evidence [Walmart] choose[s], including evidence that there was no discrimination against one or more members of the class.” Because Walmart cannot possibly present rebuttal evidence against each of the 1.5 million gender discrimination claims that form the Dukes class, the class action, Walmart concludes, is unconstitutional. The argument is not original to Walmart - it is a staple of the class action defense bar. What should originalists make of …