The National Law Journal also has coverage of a “groundbreaking” Judge Easterbrook decision out of the federal appellate court in Chicago, In re Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. Tires Products Liability Litigation, holding that a federal decision against the creation of a nationwide class precludes state courts from deciding to the contrary. (John Beisner of my law firm, O’Melveny & Myers, represented Ford Motor Company and argued for the defense.) The decision is important because it limits the ability of class action plaintiffs’ attorneys to judge-shop; if a federal court denied the certification of a nationwide class, the same attorneys could go from state to state seeking a state court that would in a game of “heads I win, tails don’t count.” (Gary Young, “7th Circuit Limits State Court Certification of Class Actions,” National Law Journal, July 8.)
Many thanks to Walter Olson for giving me the keys to the website for the week. I greatly enjoyed the experience.
Comments are closed.