Litigation Commons^™

Taking Adequacy Seriously: The Inadequate Assessment Of Adequacy In Litigation And Settlement Classes, Linda S. Mullenix

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the past decade, the debate over settlement classes has moved considerably beyond the "sturm und drang" inspired by the epic settlement classes in Amchem Products, Incorporated. v. Windsor' and Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corporation. Whereas Amchem asked whether and on what terms federal courts were authorized to approve settlement classes, and Ortiz asked whether a mandatory, limited- fund global asbestos settlement was sustainable, the settlement class issue du jour focuses on the ability of litigants to collaterally attack settlements in remote forums and at remote times.

Because the collateral attack problem is so vital to the sanctity of settlement classes, …