Class-Action Reading

Blum v. General Electric contains an interesting blend of procedure and contract law.  There, some class members had earlier entered into a "Stipulation of Dismissal of Certain Plaintiffs’ Claims Without Prejudice."  In that earlier litigation, the parties agreed to the following stipulation:"In the event that the Court should deny the motion for class certification  … Plaintiffs may refile their claims against Defendants . . . within thirty days after such a ruling, or be barred from doing so."   The Court did deny certification, and the dismissed plaintiffs refiled — but more than thirty days after the denial.  After the plaintiffs refiled, Defendants moved to dismiss because the refiling was late under the stipulation.  The Court held the stipulation unenforceable for lack of consideration.   Download Blum.pdf   For more class-action reading, click here to download a recent SSRN piece advocating against cost-benefit analyses in class-certification decisions.    –RR