The Sixth Circuit yesterday in a per curiam opinion (paneled by Judges Boggs, Thapar, and Readler) accepted interlocutory appeal of and vacated a class certification order from the Eastern District of Michigan. The case is In re: Ford Motor Company, Case No. 22-0109 (6th Cir.). The Court’s opinion served to remind district courts that they … Continue Reading
Last week, in Monroe v. FTS, USA, a divided panel of the Sixth Circuit affirmed the certification of a class of workers as sufficiently “similarly situated” under the Fair Labor Standards Act, holding that they were subject to “a single, company-wide time-shaving policy,” even though time was shaved via three separate methods. Some managers simply altered … Continue Reading
Because of the significant size of the jury verdicts or, more likely, the settlements of class actions, questions of class certification carry significant weight. However, it is not just monetary consideration that makes class actions so important. One element of aggregate litigation that is most frequently discussed is the due process considerations that need to … Continue Reading
A look at appeals in class actions in the Sixth Circuit over the past year reveals several interesting points about these often high stakes lawsuits. First, out of the seventeen cases turned up using a commercial research service, the Sixth Circuit was more slightly more likely to grant review of the district court’s decision on … Continue Reading
An often repeated question by litigants to their attorneys is whether an adverse ruling by the district court is subject to immediate appeal. The answer to that question is, of course, highly circumstantial. Depending on how their case is procedurally situated, in addition to the underlying substantive issues in some instances, litigants may or may … Continue Reading
On September 23, a group of dairy petitioners filed a petition in the Sixth Circuit seeking interlocutory review of a class action certification in a significant antitrust case — In re Southeastern Milk Antitrust Litig.pdf (Case No. 10-0504) (PDF). The Sixth Circuit has no “hard-and-fast test” for determining whether to grant a Rule 23(f) petition … Continue Reading