Class Action litigation remains high stakes litigation wherein the size of the class can ultimately dictate whether a class action can be maintained, defended or settled. Size of the class does not merely depend on the allegations of conduct and harm, but also depends on the extent that a Court can obtain jurisdiction over absent class members. The Court’s interpretation of the extent to which it can obtain jurisdiction over absent class members can be the difference between obtaining or defeating class certification in the first instance and the ability to resolve a class action in the second instance.
In Wal-Mart v. Dukes, the United States Supreme Court addressed the issues of due process rights of absent class members under Federal Rule of Procedure 23 in connection with a proposed class action. In its decision, the Court specifically left unanswered certain questions surrounding the extent to which due process impacts the ability to prosecute, certify, and settle class actions. Not only has this left for interpretation the due process issues at the lower court levels, state courts have addressed these issues in connection with their own state rules governing class actions (which at times may materially differ from the federal court rules) leading to some unpredictability in how due process rights of absent class members can alter the course of litigation and/or settlement.
This course examines the most recent decisions in the area and look at various state court decisions, including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Oho, South Carolina and Texas, that practitioners and in-house counsel should be aware when faced with a class action.
Barry is a partner in the firm's Business Litigation; Business Restructuring, Creditors' Rights & Bankruptcy; Product Liability Litigation and ERISA Litigation practice groups. He is an experienced trial lawyer whose practice focuses on civil litigation, concentrating on the substantive areas of general commercial law, class action defense, franchise disputes, mass torts, product liability, environmental liability and bankruptcy.
Barry represents clients in a wide range of industries, including consumer electronics, petroleum, chemicals, manufacturing, financial services and real estate. He also regularly counsels clients on electronic discovery and develops document retention programs and discovery response plans as they relate to electronically stored information. Barry is a frequent writer and speaker on the subject.
Good information.
Very informative. Liked having all the case law.
very well spoken
Does a really nice job explaining difficult topics
Thank you for the superb presentation --- thorough and clear.
Another fine program.....the due process leans more to corporations. as a criminal defense attorney I find that interesting, especially with the individual argument like the judge in Texas.....good one.
A lot of detail for one hour - a good presenter.