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How Much Is Enough?

By Victoria Woodlin Chavey
April 27, 2007

In employment class actions in federal court, such as class actions under Title VII for which Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 provides the governing procedure, the most critical juncture in the case is often the plaintiffs' motion for class certification. That motion requires the court to evaluate whether the plaintiffs have met the Rule 23 requirements and may proceed as a class; denial of the motion generally deals a devastating blow to plaintiffs' claims. In a new ruling that employers can use to support their bids to defeat plaintiffs' motions for class certification under Rule 23, the Second Circuit recently clarified ' and strengthened ' the standard under which district courts should determine plaintiffs' satisfaction of Rule 23's requirements.

Requirements of Rule 23

Under Rule 23, a class may be certified when the plaintiffs meet the requirements of numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy under Rule 23(a). Moreover, plaintiffs must meet one of the standards in subsection (b) of Rule 23; Title VII class actions are most often pursued under either subsection (b)(2), under which plaintiffs may seek injunctive relief, and subsection (b)(3), which requires 'predominance,' that is, 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' of adjudication.

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