CLASS ACTIONS
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23: Class Actions
(a) Prerequisites to a Class Action. One or more members of a class may
sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf of all only if:
(1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable,
(2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class,
(3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical
of the claims or defenses of the class, and
(4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect
the interests of the class.
(b) Class Actions Maintainable. An action may be maintained as a class
action if the prerequisites of subdivision (a) are satisfied, and in addition:
(1) the prosecution of separate actions by or against individual members
of the class would create a risk of
(A) inconsistent or varying adjudications with respect to individual members
of the class which would establish incompatible standards of conduct for
the party opposing the class, or
(B) adjudications with respect to individual members of the class which
would as a practical matter be dispositive of the interests of the other
members not parties to the adjudications or substantially impair or impede
their ability to protect their interests; or
(2) the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds
generally applicable to the class, thereby making appropriate final injunctive
relief or corresponding declaratory relief with respect to the class as
a whole; or
(3) the court finds that the questions of law or fact common to the members
of the class predominate over any questions affecting only individual members,
and that a class action is superior to other available methods for the
fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy. The matters pertinent
to the findings include: (A) the interest of members of the class in individually
controlling the prosecution or defense of separate actions; (B) the extent
and nature of any litigation concerning the controversy already commenced
by or against members of the class; (C) the desirability or undesirability
of concentrating the litigation of the claims in the particular forum;
(D) the difficulties likely to be encountered in the management of a class
action.
(c) Determination by Order Whether Class Action to be Maintained; Notice;
Judgment; Actions Conducted Partially as Class Actions.
(1) As soon as practicable after the commencement of an action brought
as a class action, the court shall determine by order whether it is to
be so maintained. An order under this subdivision may be conditional, and
may be altered or amended before the decision on the merits.
(2) In any class action maintained under subdivision (b)(3), the court
shall direct to the members of the class the best notice practicable under
the circumstances, including individual notice to all members who can be
identified through reasonable effort. The notice shall advise each member
that (A) the court will exclude the member from the class if the member
so requests by a specified date; (B) the judgment, whether favorable or
not, will include all members who do not request exclusion; and (C) any
member who does not request exclusion may, if the member desires, enter
an appearance through counsel.
(3) The judgment in an action maintained as a class action under subdivision
(b)(1) or (b)(2), whether or not favorable to the class, shall include
and describe those whom the court finds to be members of the class. The
judgment in an action maintained as a class action under subdivision (b)(3),
whether or not favorable to the class, shall include and specify or describe
those to whom the notice provided in subdivision (c)(2) was directed, and
who have not requested exclusion, and whom the court finds to be members
of the class.
(4) When appropriate (A) an action may be brought or maintained as a class
action with respect to particular issues, or (B) a class may be divided
into subclasses and each subclass treated as a class, and the provisions
of this rule shall then be construed and applied accordingly.
(d) Orders in Conduct of Actions. In the conduct of actions to which this
rule applies, the court may make appropriate orders: (1) determining the
course of proceedings or prescribing measures to prevent undue repetition
or complication in the presentation of evidence or argument; (2) requiring,
for the protection of the members of the class or otherwise for the fair
conduct of the action, that notice be given in such manner as the court
may direct to some or all of the members of any step in the action, or
of the proposed extent of the judgment, or of the opportunity of members
to signify whether they consider the representation fair and adequate,
to intervene and present claims or defenses, or otherwise to come into
the action; (3) imposing conditions on the representative parties or on
intervenors; (4) requiring that the pleadings be amended to eliminate therefrom
allegations as to representation of absent persons, and that the action
proceed accordingly; (5) dealing with similar procedural matters. The orders
may be combined with an order under Rule 16, and may be altered or amended
as may be desirable from time to time.
(e) Dismissal or Compromise. A class action shall not be dismissed or
compromised without the approval of the court, and notice of the proposed
dismissal or compromise shall be given to all members of the class in such
manner as the court directs.
(f) Appeals. A court of appeals may in its discretion permit an appeal
from an order of a district court granting or denying class action certification
under this rule if application is made to it within ten days after entry
of the order. An appeal does not stay proceedings in the district court
unless the district judge or the court of appeals so orders.
About Lieff Cabraser
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is a sixty-plus attorney law firm that has represented plaintiffs nationwide since 1972. We have offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville. We represent plaintiffs in class and group actions and in individual lawsuits in cases involving substantial losses. For the last seven years, The National Law Journal has selected Lieff Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs' law firms in the nation.
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