Class Actions Brief Blog

Particularly with the Supreme Court’s denial of cert in Whirlpool v. Glazer, U.S., No. 13-431, cert. denied 2/24/14, “issue certification” itself remains an unresolved issue. In Whirlpool, the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s order granting class certification of claims for breach of warranty, negligent design, and negligent failure to warn under Ohio law for Whirlpool’s front-load washing machines. Whirlpool argued that class certification was improper because individual issues of liability and damages predominated with respect to the action as a ...

In Mitchell v. Smithfield Packing Co. Inc., No. 4:08-CV-182, 2013 WL 3819935 (E.D.N.C. July 23, 2013), Magistrate Judge Gates had to decide how to deal with putative class counsel who were having trouble communicating: “Communications between [co-counsel] appear to have completely broken down, and the court cannot envision any scenario in which they could continue to work together.” In the face of this, the Court had to choose which counsel to appoint as sole class counsel under Rule 23(g). Rule 23(g)(2) provides that “[i]f more than one adequate applicant seeks ...

In recent companion decisions, the North Carolina Court of Appeals had to decide whether a governing North Carolina Supreme Court decision concerning class actions had to yield to a decision of the United States Supreme Court.

A contract is generally governed by state law, but when that contract includes an arbitration clause, the provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act come into play. The United States Supreme Court has wrestled with the intersection of the arbitration-friendly FAA and state law contractual defenses against contractual enforcement – like ...