Class Actions—the Evolution Continues

Contributors: Jennifer S. Romano, April Nelson Ross

[Article PDF]

Facing a number of Supreme Court decisions and an overarching trend against class actions, plaintiffs’ attorneys have pivoted, adapting their strategies to fit new legal realities

Over the past decade, the Supreme Court has decided a series of cases limiting who, where, and how individuals can pursue their claims on a class-wide basis. This trend coincided with the Court’s shift to the right and started with the 2011 AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion decision, which established the enforceability of arbitration provi­sions in consumer contracts, including provisions waiving the right to pursue a class action. Later, the 2017 decision in Bristol Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California limited where plaintiffs can bring broad, nationwide or multistate litigation against corporate defendants, effectively pushing those cases to the defendant’s home jurisdiction. And in 2021, the Court held in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez that all class members—not only the named plaintiffs—must have constitutional Article III standing and must show concrete harm.

Read the complete article in the Litigation Forecast 2023. 

Index: Litigation Forecast 2023

• Cover Story – Class Actions—the Evolution Continues — April Ross and Jennifer Romano
• European Union – Evolving Landscape for Representative Actions — Werner Eyskens
• United Kingdom – Class Actions: Getting Traction — Laurence Winston
• Jurisdictional Analysis – Rightsizing the Federal Bench: More Judges Handling Fewer Cases — Justin Kingsolver
• Middle East/North Africa – A Pro-Arbitration Approach Changes the Dynamic — Randa Adra
• District of Columbia – Slow Flow in D.C. Courts — Toni Michelle Jackson
• Southern District of New York – Consumer Class Actions Expand into New Sectors — Sarah Gilbert
• Northern District of Illinois – Biometric Litigation Looms Large —Jason Stiehl
• Northern District of California – Will the Door to Mass Claims Close? —Christopher Banks
• Central District of California – A Faster Docket with Patent and Privacy Cases — Emily Kuwahara
• Patent Litigation Venues – Can an Infringement Claim Magnet Be Deactivated? — Yuezhong Feng

Litigation Forecast Archive:
2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018

Regulatory Forecast Archive: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017