Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, which we’ve been tracking for its possible impact on the availability of punitive damages in class actions.
Based on a reading of the oral argument transcript, at least five justices appeared ready to overturn the district court’s decision to certify what is reportedly the largest class action in history. Justices Alito, Kennedy, Roberts, and Scalia seemed to signal that they agree the class does not satisfy the threshold requirements set by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a) for all federal class actions. Even several of the other justices who one might expect would be sympathetic to the plaintiffs’ argument appeared troubled by aspects of the class certification decision, although they did not necessarily agree the plaintiffs failed to satisfy Rule 23(a)’s threshold requirements.
For example, the questions Justice Ginsburg asked suggested she may yet conclude at least some portion of plaintiffs’ lawsuit cannot be certified solely under Rule 23(b)(2) even if the plaintiffs satisfied Rule 23(a). Justice Ginsburg indicated that, under the advisory committee’s note for Rule 23(b)(2), a class action cannot be certified under that rule if the monetary relief sought predominates over injunctive relief. She questioned how plaintiffs could say injunctive rather than monetary relief predominates here given that nearly half of the class members are not interested in injunctive relief but all of the members are interested in money.
Interestingly, Justice Sotomayor seemed to suggest that, where a class seeks both injunctive and monetary relief, it may be appropriate for courts to decide whether the class should be certified under Rule 23(b)(2) based on a test developed by the Fifth Circuit in Allison v. Citgo Petroleum Corp., 151 F.3d 402 (5th Cir. 1998). If the Allison test were applied to the plaintiffs’ lawsuit, the plaintiffs in Wal-Mart—and plaintiffs in future class actions—may face an uphill struggle persuading a court to certify requests for back pay and punitive damages for class treatment under Rule 23(b)(2). See Allison, 151 F.3d at 416-418 (affirming determination that class certification for claims seeking compensatory and punitive damages was inappropriate under Rule 23(b)(2) because these claims for monetary relief were not sufficiently incidental to the injunctive and declaratory relief sought).
Given the questions posed by Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor, it will be interesting to see whether the Supreme Court reverses class certification in a close (perhaps 5 to 4) decision holding the plaintiffs failed to satisfy Rule 23(a)’s threshold requirements or whether, either in lieu of or in addition to this determination, a broader coalition of justices agrees the class fails to satisfy Rule 23(b)(2).
Related posts:
Wal-Mart v Dukes argument set for March 29
Wal-Mart v. Dukes cert. petition redistributed for Dec. 3 conference
Wal-Mart v. Dukes cert. petition up for consideration next week
Ninth Circuit’s Dukes v. Wal-Mart decision addresses class certification of punitive damages claims