We recently noted that the Ninth Circuit had granted a Rule 23(f) petition in Chen v. Allstate Insurance Co.—on the issue whether a named plaintiff can refuse an offer of judgment for full relief and persist in litigating a class action—and was expected to issue a briefing schedule soon. Leaving aside the substance of the case, there is nothing unusual about the practice the Ninth Circuit followed in Chen. That is standard operating procedure virtually everywhere, although in a few rare instances courts of appeals have ordered briefing and argument on both the Rule 23(f) petition and the
Continue Reading The Seventh Circuit’s Unique Approach To Handling Rule 23(f) Petitions
Butler v. Sears Roebuck & Co.
Can a Product-Liability Class that Is Full of Uninjured Members Be Certified?
By Jeffrey Sarles & Kevin Ranlett on
The answer is a resounding “no,” says Judge Cormac Carney of the Central District of California in a recent significant decision in litigation over the third generation Toyota Prius and 2010 Lexus HS250h vehicles (In re Toyota Motor Corp. Hybrid Brake Mktg., Sales Practices & Prods. Liab. Litig. (pdf), No. SAML 10-2172-CJC (C.D. Cal. Jan. 9, 2013).
Judge Carney is presiding over a multidistrict litigation (consolidating five class actions) against Toyota, in which the plaintiffs allege that a defect in the Prius’s anti-lock brake system (“ABS”) causes increased stopping time and distance when a driver hits the brakes.
The…
Continue Reading Can a Product-Liability Class that Is Full of Uninjured Members Be Certified?