Supreme Court Grants Cert in Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

In a long awaited decision to Wal-Mart’s petition, the United States Supreme Court granted review in Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.  There’s already been a good bit of academic commentary on the case.  Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc hosted a Roundtable discussion on the case, which is available here.  It includes my introduction to the issues in the Dukes case along with Bob Bone’s essay, Sorting Through the Certification MuddleGood Causes and Bad ScienceThe Curse of Bigness and the Optimal Size of Class ActionsCommon Answers for Class Certification.

Suzette Malveaux, Bob Bone, Melissa Hart, and I will be hosting a “hot topics” panel on the Dukes case at this year’s AALS meeting.  The panel is currently scheduled for Friday, January 7, 2011, from 8:30-10:15 a.m. at the San Francisco Hilton.  We have, however, requested that the location be changed due to the on-going labor disputes, so an update may follow.  

Update: Interestingly, the Court granted cert only on Wal-Mart’s first question, “Whether claims for monetary relief can be certified under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2)–which by its terms is limited to injunctive or corresponding declaratory relief–and, if so, under what circumstances.”  (Wal-Mart Petition for Cert. at i).  The Court also directed the parties to “brief and argue the following question: ‘Whether the class certification ordered under Rule 23(b)(2) was consistent with Rule 23(a).'”  For those who are interested, I address the issues underlying this question in pages 93-98 of the Introduction.

ECB