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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 …