Recently, the Sixth Circuit was compelled to take a side of the jurisdictional split on the issue of whether a statute of repose can be tolled by a pending class action certification. The split arises out of the 1974 Supreme Court decision in American Pipe& Constr. Co. v. Utah, 414 U.S. 538 (1974), which held … Continue Reading
When it comes to interpreting federal law, state courts in the Sixth Circuit usually look to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. But state courts are free to disagree, as an Ohio appellate court demonstrated recently in Smith v. Erie County Sherriff’s Department, where it unambiguously rejected the Sixth Circuit’s reading of 28 U.S.C. 1367(d). Section … Continue Reading
After the Supreme Court denied class certification to female Wal-Mart employees in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011) on the grounds that plaintiffs were unable to demonstrate any “nationwide” policy or practice of discrimination, Wal-Mart employees began to press their gender discrimination claims in a spate of narrower, regionally-focused class-action suits … Continue Reading
In a split decision issued late last week, the Sixth Circuit overturned a Michigan district court’s disposition of a tort suit from North Carolina arising out of allegedly faulty breast implants. In noting that “a venue transfer is not alchemy,” the court also construed complex choice-of-law issues in light of the Bankruptcy Code. Over 20 … Continue Reading
