Class Actions—the Evolution Continues

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.