Law Commons^™

A Question Of Taste: Touchtones For Determining The Certifiability Of Class-Wide Claims For Declaratory And Injunctive Relief Under Rule 23 Of The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure, Randy D. Gordon

Randy D. Gordon

Mass Torts And Due Process, Sergio Campos

Sergio J. Campos

Almost all courts and scholars disfavor the use of class actions in mass tort litigation, since class actions infringe on each plaintiff's control, or autonomy, over the tort claim. The Supreme Court, in fact, has strongly suggested that protecting such litigant autonomy is a requirement of due process, and has done so in recent decisions concerning the class action, arbitration, preclusion law, and the Erie doctrine. In this article I argue that protecting litigant autonomy in the mass tort context is self-defeating, and, in the process, rethink basic tenets of procedural due process. Relying on recent property theory, I first …

Mass Torts And Due Process, Sergio J. Campos

Sergio J. Campos

Almost all courts and scholars disfavor the use of class actions in mass tort litigation, since class actions infringe on each plaintiff's control, or autonomy, over the tort claim. The Supreme Court, in fact, has strongly suggested that protecting such litigant autonomy is a requirement of due process, and has done so in recent decisions concerning the class action, arbitration, preclusion law, and the Erie doctrine. In this article I argue that protecting litigant autonomy in the mass tort context is self-defeating, and, in the process, rethink basic tenets of procedural due process. Relying on recent property theory, I first …

Foreign Citizens As Members Of Transnational Class Actions, Jay Tidmarsh

Jay Tidmarsh

This Article addresses an increasingly important question: When, if ever, should foreign citizens be included as members of an American class action? The existing consensus holds that foreign citizens whose home forum will not recognize an American class judgment should be excluded from membership. Our analysis begins by establishing that this consensus is seriously flawed and misapprehends the nature of the problem. Using standard tools of economic analysis, we then make two arguments. First, the decision to include or exclude foreign class members should be based upon a comparison of costs and benefits: in particular, the costs generated by foreign …

Of Vulnerable Monopolists?: Questionable Innovation In The Standard For Class Certification In Antitrust Cases, Joshua P. Davis, Eric L. Cramer

Joshua P. Davis

Some courts appear to have begun to revise the standard for granting class certification, including in antitrust cases. The new standard, if there is one, may empower courts to find facts relevant to the merits in a way that historically they have not been permitted to do. If courts are ratcheting up the standard at class certification by forcing plaintiffs to make a showing on the merits, then it seems an unfortunate development for various reasons. First, the rationale for the change is unsubstantiated and implausible. Neither theory nor evidence supports the claim that corporations settle meritless class actions with …

Procedural Adequacy, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

This short piece responds to Jay Tidmarsh’s article, Rethinking Adequacy of Representation, 87 Texas Law Review 1137 (2009). I explore Professor Tidmarsh’s proposed “do no harm” approach to adequate representation in class actions from a procedural legitimacy perspective. I begin by considering the assumption underlying his alternative, namely that in any given class action both attorneys and class representatives tend to act as self-interested homo economicus and we must therefore tailor the adequacy requirement to curb self-interest only in so far as it makes class members worse off than they would be with individual litigation. Adopting the “do no harm” …

There's A Pennoyer In My Foyer: Civil Procedure According To Dr. Seuss, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

There’s A Pennoyer in My Foyer: Civil Procedure According to Dr. Seuss is what it purports to be: a Seussian take on civil procedure. It’s a short, fun essay that covers (1) the iron triangle of civil procedure—the role of lawyers, judges, and juries, and (2) prominent civil procedure doctrines, such as personal jurisdiction, Erie, pleading, discovery, and joinder.

Procedural Justice In Nonclass Aggregation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Nonclass aggregate litigation is risky for plaintiffs: it falls into the gray area between individual litigation and certified class actions. Although scholars have formulated procedural protections for both extremes, the unique danger and allure posed by nonclass aggregation has been undertheorized, leaving mass tort claimants with inadequate safeguards. When hallmark features of mass torts include attenuated attorney-client relationships, numerous litigants, and the demise of adversarial legalism, the attorney-client relationship itself becomes another bargaining chip in the exchange of rights. This Article takes the initial steps toward advancing a cohesive theory of procedural justice in nonclass aggregation by exposing the problem …

Threats To The Future Of The Immigration Class Action, Jill E. Family

Jill E. Family

Mega-Cases, Diversity, And The Elusive Goal Of Workplace Reform, Nancy Levit

Nancy Levit

Employment discrimination class action suits are part of a new wave of structural reform litigation. Like their predecessors - the school desegregation cases in the 1950s, the housing and voting inequalities cases in the 1960s, prison conditions suits in the 1970s, and environmental lawsuits since then - these are systemic challenges to major institutions affecting large segments of the public. This article explores the effectiveness of various employment discrimination remedies in reforming workplace cultures, promoting corporate accountability, and implementing real diversity.

Reviewing the architecture and aftermath of consent decrees in five major employment discrimination cases - the cases against Shoney's, …

The Cy Pres Problem And The Role Of Damages In Tort Law, Goutam U. Jois

Goutam U Jois

Class action litigation presents a common problem that has received little discussion in the academic literature. In almost every case, the plaintiff class’s recovery is not fully distributed. For example, all possible plaintiffs may not come forward with their claims, the plaintiffs may not be ascertainable, or claims may not be timely submitted. Administrators are regularly posed with the problem of what to do with these residual funds. Currently, courts are free to do virtually anything with such funds. The system is ad hoc, unpredictable, and unguided by any normative principle. In these cases, I propose that the funds should …

Subclassing, Scott Dodson

Scott Dodson

This Article is the first to take a hard look at Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c)(4)(B), an oft-slighted part of the class action scheme that permits a court to create subclasses "when appropriate." Despite its tautologically unhelpful text, no other court or commentator has undertaken a comprehensive analysis of this provision. The time to do so is certainly now. As class actions grow bigger, plaintiffs seek new ways to meet Rule 23's certification requirements. Just in the last few years, plaintiffs have turned to subclassing's sister provision, Rule 23(c)(4)(A), which has consequently received a flurry of commentary from courts …

Rethinking Civil Rico-The Vexing Problem Of Causation In Fraud-Based Claims.Pdf, Randy D. Gordon

Randy D. Gordon

An Historical Analysis Of The Binding Effect Of Class Suits, Geoffrey C. Hazard, John L. Gedid, Stephen Sowle

John L. Gedid

No abstract provided.