Engel: Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: January Lessons
In October and November, federal appeals courts issued class certification rulings touching on issues ranging from U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit's ascertainability requirement to the jurisdictional nature of class action appeals. Shook Partner Mitch Engel discusses five class action rulings in an article for Law360 titled “Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: January Lessons.”
In the article, Engel highlighted the case of Cline v. Sunoco, in which the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma certified a class of landowners who owned royalty interests in oil wells in Oklahoma who alleged they received late payments that did not include statutory interest required under Oklahoma state law. In November, the 10th Circuit affirmed the lower court.
The 10th Circuit held that the class satisfied the three traits that generally show that predominance is satisfied, and also held that the class satisfied the ascertainability requirement, Engel said. The court additionally explained the ascertainability requirement.
“In doing so, the Tenth Circuit held that ‘for a class to be ascertainable, the class definition must (1) be defined clearly and cannot be defined too vaguely, and (2) be defined objectively and cannot be based on subjective criteria, such as by a person's state of mind,’” he said.
Read the article at Law360 >>
In the article, Engel highlighted the case of Cline v. Sunoco, in which the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma certified a class of landowners who owned royalty interests in oil wells in Oklahoma who alleged they received late payments that did not include statutory interest required under Oklahoma state law. In November, the 10th Circuit affirmed the lower court.
The 10th Circuit held that the class satisfied the three traits that generally show that predominance is satisfied, and also held that the class satisfied the ascertainability requirement, Engel said. The court additionally explained the ascertainability requirement.
“In doing so, the Tenth Circuit held that ‘for a class to be ascertainable, the class definition must (1) be defined clearly and cannot be defined too vaguely, and (2) be defined objectively and cannot be based on subjective criteria, such as by a person's state of mind,’” he said.
Read the article at Law360 >>
