Civil Procedure Class actions It was improper to certify a class action against an insurer on behalf of insureds seeking an injunction. “This case is not appropriate for class certification under Rule 23(b)(2). As an initial matter, the plaintiffs’ claim for injunctive relief suffers from some serious conceptual confusion. This is a suit for breach of contract and bad-faith denial ...

Employment FLSA; class actions Employees who institute a collective action against their employer under the terms of the FLSA may at the same time litigate supplemental state-law claims as a class action certified according to FRCP 23(b)(3). “We conclude that there is no categorical rule against certifying a Rule 23(b)(3) state-law class action in a proceeding that also includes a ...

Civil Procedure Class actions; attorney fees The special master in a class action arbitrarily reduced attorney’s fees. “The 12 percent figure was plucked out of a hat, and a hat with three holes in it: the unresolved comparison with securities class actions, the arbitrary reduction in attorneys’ fees for the nonpecuniary relief, and the perfunctory (less than a page) consideration, ...

Civil Procedure Class actions; removal Individual suits cannot be removed to federal court based only on an expectation that the cases will be consolidated into a class action. “The proposal must be to the court in which the suits are pending, but if the plaintiffs’ statement to the state court that we quoted was a proposal it was a proposal ...

Civil Procedure Class actions; mootness In the context of a class action, a defendant cannot moot the case by settling with the named plaintiff before it moves for class certification. “It would make little sense to fashion a rule that would allow the fate of a case to be resolved by a race to the courthouse, particularly when the deadline ...