Constitutionalizing Class Certification

Authors

Margaret S. Thomas, Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law CenterFollow

Abstract

I. Introduction

II. The Constitutional Shift in Class Certification ... A. BP’s Gulf Oil Spill Muddies Article III’s Limits on Class Standing in Federal Court ... B. Defendant Due Process Rights in Class Actions in State Courts ... 1. Montana’s Example: Class-Wide Punitive Damages ... 2. Pennsylvania’s Example: Wal-Mart Redux ... C. Weaving Together the Three Categories of Constitutional Challenges to Certification

III. The Historical Constitutional Limits on Aggregation ... A. The Constitutional Canon for Class Actions: Flexibility and Pragmatism ... B. Due Process in Civil Litigation: Mathews v. Eldridge and Its Progeny ... C. The New Frontier: Movement Toward a National, Uniform Class Certification Procedure ... 1. Connecting Punitive Damages Doctrine with Class Certification ... 2. Constitutionalizing Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes … D. Scholarly Critiques of the New Due Process Constraints in Class Actions

IV. Reconstructing Federalism in the Class Action Landscape ... A. The Value of Federalism in Aggregate Litigation … B. The State Courts as Independent Systems in “Our Federalism”

V. Conclusion

Recommended Citation

Margaret S. Thomas, Constitutionalizing Class Certification, 95 Neb. L. Rev. 1024 (2016)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol95/iss4/4