Over the past year, the Fourth Circuit has issued three decisions on class certification—all of which either affirmed certification or reversed and remanded to the district court to rule on certification. The opinions show the Fourth Circuit applying key principles in class-action practice, including mootness and the relation-back exception, standing […]
Two years ago, universities around the world paused in-person classes and quickly transitioned to online learning in response to government shutdown orders, and to protect students, faculty, and staff from the potentially deadly effects of contracting COVID-19. The quick switch allowed students to obtain course credit and remain on track […]
District courts typically grant or deny class certification on a claim-by-claim basis. If a plaintiff can’t meet the Rule 23 requirements for a particular claim, then class certification is denied. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)–(b). Once in a while, however, district courts will certify a class on an element […]
Until recently, litigators on both sides of the “v.” routinely included incentive awards in class-action settlements. The Eleventh Circuit’s recent decision in Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, LLC, 975 F.3d 1244 (11th Cir. 2020), shook things up, holding incentive awards are prohibited under Supreme Court caselaw dating back over a century. […]
