Civil Procedure Commons^™

Transnational Perspectives Regarding The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure, Edward F. Sherman

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Reconsidering The Scope And Consequences Of Appellate Review In The Certification Decision Of Dukes V. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , Nicole Hitch

Cleveland State Law Review

This article will explore the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and their application in the granting or denial of certification in an employment discrimination class action. In doing so, this article will examine how the district court applied these rules in the Wal-Mart action, which resulted in the certification of the largest private class action suit in American history. Additionally, this article will consider the consequences of the Ninth Circuit's utilization of permissive and liberal standards and, alternatively, the consequences of incorporation of stricter standards from various other circuit courts and the possible result of denial of certification.

What The Shutts Opt-Out Right Is And What It Ought To Be, Brian Wolfman, Alan B. Morrison

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article discusses the ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts, 472 U.S. 797 (1985), regarding the right of an absent class member to opt out of a class action. The article addresses both the current prevailing understanding of Shutts, which is based on the personal jurisdiction strain of due process jurisprudence, and what the authors believe is a more useful understanding, based on the property rights strain of due process jurisprudence. As an addendum to the article, the authors propose a new civil procedure rule governing class actions that would implement …

Rewriting Shutts For Fun, Not To Profit, Edward H. Cooper

Articles

It has not been easy to reconcile contemporary class-action practice with traditional adversary procedure. For that matter, it is not easy to craft a unitary "class-action" procedure that serves well the many different purposes pursued by the many different species of class actions. The practice has flourished, but few would dare say it has really matured. Many problems remain.

Rethinking Civil Rico: The Vexing Problem Of Causation In Fraud-Based Claims Under 18 U.S.C. § 1962(C), Randy D. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

To recover in a private action, the three-part structure of RICO demands proof of particularized crimes at two levels and civil standing to sue for those crimes. The interpretation and application of the standing requirement — which arises from the statute’s mandate that compensable injuries be caused “by reason of” acts of racketeering — have bedeviled courts and litigants for decades. Recent developments in class action law have exacerbated the problem. As more and more courts have rendered it nearly impossible to certify classes asserting state-law claims, class plaintiffs have turned to uniform federal laws like RICO. But civil RICO …

What Counts As Fraud? An Empirical Study Of Motions To Dismiss Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, Adam C. Pritchard, Hillary A. Sale

Articles

This article presents the findings of a study of the resolution of motions to dismiss securities fraud lawsuits since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) in 1995. Our sample consists of decisions on motions to dismiss in securities class actions by district and appellate courts in the Second and Ninth Circuits for cases filed after the passage of the Reform Act to the end of 2002. These circuits are the leading circuits for the filing of securities class actions and are generally recognized as representing two ends of the securities class action spectrum. Post-PSLRA, the Second …

Integrating Racial Justice Into The Civil Procedure Survey Course, Kevin R. Johnson

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Brief Of Respondents In Opposition, In Re Green Tree Financial Corp., No. 03-1243 (U.S. Apr. 22, 2004), Cornelia T. Pillard

U.S. Supreme Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Will Employment Discrimination Class Actions Survive?, Melissa Hart

Publications

Recent years have witnessed increasing attacks on the appropriateness of certification of employment discrimination class action claims. The shift is often attributed to amendments to federal antidiscrimination laws in the Civil Rights Act of 1991. This paper argues, however, that the changes wrought by the 1991 amendments need not pose a barrier to resolution of employment discrimination claims through class litigation. The addition of compensatory and punitive damages and a jury-trial right may increase the level of scrutiny and perhaps the level of judicial involvement necessary in an employment discrimination class action. But they do not render such a class …

The Cauldron Boils: Supplemental Jurisdiction, Amount In Controversy, And Diversity Of Citizenship Class Actions, Richard D. Freer

Faculty Articles

Ultimately, it does not matter how or even whether the Supreme Court resolves the issue. The fact that we still do not know whether Zahn lives ­after thirteen years-demonstrates that legislation concerning the jurisdiction of the federal courts should not be the hurried product of a few drafters whose work is not circulated for broader discussion. Ours is a world in which any change to a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure-no matter how minor-must be circulated and subjected to public comment and review. Yet the jurisdiction of the federal courts can be changed in relative secrecy and haste. Congress committed …

Did The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Work?, Michael A. Perino

Faculty Publications

In 1995 Congress passed the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (the PSLRA or the Act) to address abuses in securities fraud class actions. In the wake of Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, and other high profile securities frauds, critics suggest that the law made it too easy to escape liability for securities fraud and thus created a climate in which frauds are more likely to occur. Others claim that the Act has largely failed because it did little to deter plaintiffs' lawyers from filing nonmeritorious cases. This article employs a database of the 1449 class actions filed from 1996 through 2001 to …

Clear Sailing Agreements: A Special Form Of Collusion In Class Action Settlements, William D. Henderson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

A clear sailing agreement (or clause) is a compromise in which a class action defendant agrees not to contest the class lawyer's petition for attorneys' fees. This Article argues that clear sailing provisions often facilitate collusive settlements in cases involving non-pecuniary relief or claims-made common funds that return all unclaimed monies to the defendant. Because these types of settlements present difficult valuation problems, trial courts lack a clear benchmark for calculating attorneys' fees. Defendants and class can exploit this uncertainty by presenting an inflated settlement value to the court (to justify higher attorneys' fees) while simultaneously reducing the true cost …

Federal Class Action Reform In The United States: Past And Future And Where Next?, Edward H. Cooper

Articles

Predicting the likely future developments in class action practice in the federal courts of the United States must begin in the past.

Class Action Advice In The Form Of Questions, Edward H. Cooper

Articles

The opportunity to offer advice to those who are considering the adoption or modification of class or group action procedures for other legal systems is both welcome and distracting. It is welcome because it forces a change of perspective in the attempt to contemplate adaptation of United States practice to different cultures, political structures, substantive laws, and courts with dissimilar surrounding procedures. It is distracting because there are so many different levels of possible comparison that the choice of perspective must be tailored to the immediate occasion. It is tempting to take on the most important sets of questions-for example, …

Aggregation And Settlement Of Mass Torts, Edward H. Cooper

Articles

The following essay is the pre-editing draft of the introduction to a paper delivered at a Mass Torts conference held at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in November 1999. Thc conference grew out of the work of the ad hoc Mass Torts Working Group that on February 15, 1999, delivered a Report to the Chief Justice of the United States and the judicial Conference of the United States. The Working Group, chaired by Third Circuit Judge Anthony J. Scirica, '65, included members drawn from several Judicial Conference committees, including the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, …

Aggregation And Settlement Of Mass Torts, Edward H. Cooper

Articles

It is the way of symposia that, after conveners assign topics for discussion, participants interpret those topics to cover subjects that interest themselves. I understand my assignment to be discussion of "nonbankruptcy closure" and "settlement." The Judicial Conference Working Group on Mass Torts suggests possible approaches that might facilitate closure of mass tort claims by litigation or by settlement! This paper will explore two models prepared to illustrate the challenges that confront any approach to fair and efficient closure. The first model is the "All-Encompassing Model," while the second is a draft of settlement-class provisions for Federal Rule of Civil …

Reconciling The Juridical Links Doctrine With The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure And Article Iii, William D. Henderson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Over the past three decades, the juridical link and concerted action exceptions have evolved from dicta in the Ninth Circuit's decision in La Mar to an amorphous and undertheorized body of case law that has dangerously merged procedural and jurisdictional issues. Drawing on the principles of class action jurisprudence set forth by the Supreme Court in Amchem and Ortiz, lower courts should consider the issues of class certification and Rule 20(a) joinder before turning to the issue of standing under Article III. Under this approach, courts would not be able to reconcile much of the juridical links case law with …

The (Cloudy) Future Of Class Actions, Edward H. Cooper

Articles

The past, both proximate and remote, is often consulted in attempts to predict the future. Of course extrapolation from past to future is at best an uncertain art. Extrapolation, however, is not the only problem. Lessons from the recent past are distorted by lack of perspective. Lessons from the distant past are distorted by distance. The first step is to choose which of the competing pasts to consult. Selfishly, I choose to consult the recent past, as it continues through the present and on into the near-term future, from the perspective of the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of …

Contracting Access To The Courts: Myth Or Reality? Bane Or Boon?, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

Many scholars of the dispute resolution system perceive a sea change in attitudes toward adjudication that took place in the mid-1970s. Among the events of the time included the Pound Conference, which put the Chief Justice of the United States and the national judicial establishment on record in favor of at least some refinement, if not restriction, on access to courts. In addition, Chief Justice Burger, the driving force behind the Pound Conference, also used his bully pulpit as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to promote ADR, particularly court-annexed arbitration. The availability of judicial adjuncts such as court-annexed arbitration …

Fraud And Federalism: Preempting Private State Securities Fraud Causes Of Action, Michael A. Perino

Faculty Publications

The passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 has engendered a significant forum shift in class action securities fraud litigation, from federal to state court. This unintended by-product of the Act has reignited debate over our dual federal-state system of securities regulation and in turn has inspired a discussion as to whether Congress should now preempt state securities fraud causes of action. This article argues that preemption is an appropriate, but not the only, solution to these concerns. To support this argument, this article first traces the history of dual state-federal securities regulation within the context of …

The Theory Of Fee Regulation In Class Action Settlements , Bruce L. Hay

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Class Action Chaos? The Theory Of The Core And An Analysis Of Opt-Out Rights In Mass Tort Class Actions, Michael A. Perino

Faculty Publications

From breast implants to cigarettes, mass tort class actions are a prominent and controversial part of the contemporary litigation landscape. A critical component of these actions is the ability of class members to “opt out” and thereby exclude themselves from the effect of any class judgment. The tension between individual autonomy and the desire for global resolution of mass controversies has led to an intense debate concerning the circumstances under which opt-out rights should be constrained, if at all.

This Article makes five distinct contributions to the class action literature. First, the Article applies the game theoretic concept of the …

Structuring Multiclaim Litigation: Should Rule 23 Be Revised?, William W. Schwarzer

Michigan Law Review

The question whether Rule 23 should be revised therefore is not susceptible to a global answer unless revision is stylistic only, limited to making the text more elegant - and even stylistic revision is likely to have some substantive impact, even if unintended. But if the argument for revision is that the Rule is in some respect deficient and should be made to work better, one must begin by answering the question how it should work. That in tum depends on defining the Rule's purpose - what it is intended to accomplish.This paper examines briefly the purposes for which the …

Pro's And Con's Of Proposed Rule 23 Amendments , Susan J. Becker

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This article investigates whether the proposed amendments to Rule 23 (recently approved for publication and comment by the U.S. Judicial Conference's Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure) are a modest first step toward necessary class action reforms, or "a presciption for class action abuse."

Class Action Rule Changes: A Midpoint Report, Edward H. Cooper

Articles

This a midpoint progress report of the Reporter on current proposals to amend the class action rule, Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In part, it is one of many calls for help. The proposed amendments have been published for comment. It is important that the rulemakers hear from as many interested observers as possible. One of the pitfalls of the comment process - at least one of the pitfalls that the rulemakers like to believe in - is that there are many observers who believe that the rulemakers have got it right, and do not need …

Automatic Stays And Governmental Operations: How New York State Protects The Government From The Poor, Jack E. Pace Iii

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This note discusses two New York state procedural rules that endanger the poor by giving special treatment to the defendant whom low income plaintiffs most often face in court. First, the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules ("CPLR") allows the government an automatic stay, pending appeal, of all proceedings to enforce an adverse judgment or order. Second, The New York Court of Appeals' "governmental operations" rule creates a presumption against certifying class actions when the challenged action is a governmental operation. The author argues that these rules unfairly limit the ability of poor people to recover against the government …

Rule 23: Challenges To The Rulemaking Process (Symposium: The Institute Of Judicial Administration Research Conference On Class Actions), Edward H. Cooper

Articles

Three decades have elapsed since Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure last underwent revision. Taking a cue from proposed amendments prepared by the Civil Rules Advisory Committee, Professor Cooper asks whether now is the appropriate time to revise Rule 23. In this Articl e he identifis three potential "big changes" to the Rule. subsantially curtailing class actions; accommodating the needs of mass-tort actions; and recognizing the class as an entity, distinct from Its representatives. After outlining and critiquing the Advisory Committee's draf4 Professor Cooper raises a host of questions about many aspects of Rule 23 and suggests …

Power And Legal Artifice: The Federal Class Action, Bryant Garth

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Using case studies and interviews with lawyers and representatives in class actions, this article explores the contribution that class actions make to their ostensible beneficiaries. The article first distinguishes the major types of class actions in terms of the roles of lawyers and class representatives, ranging from very passive representatives to individuals intensively involved with the dispute that gave rise to the litigation. The article next seeks to evaluate the class actions. On the basis of the results of the class actions, the article finds that class actions cannot be proclaimed major contributors to social change. The focus on results, …

Fairness To The Absent Members Of A Defendant Class: A Proposed Revision Of Rule 23, Elizabeth Brandt

Articles

No abstract provided.

An Independent Public Law, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

This Article analyzes the application of numerous Federal Rules in public law litigation to show how the resurrection of private law approaches and hostility toward public interest litigants serves to disadvantage public interest litigants. The assessment is intended to discourage such future enforcement of the Federal Rules and analogous judicial treatment in other areas of public law. The Article is also meant to foster greater appreciation of public law and the articulation of a larger complement of public law principles so as to facilitate the growth of an independent public law.