Class Actions -- 2019



Behr Dayton Thermal Products v. Martin   (U.S. Supreme Court)

Reasonable class action certification standards

The NAM filed an amicus in support of a petition to certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court to ask the court to reverse an appellate ruling that would expose manufacturers to overbroad class action lawsuits. The case involves class action litigation arising from alleged groundwater contamination by manufacturers in Dayton, Ohio. The Sixth Circuit court of appeals found that the proposed class of plaintiffs lacked the requirements for class certification but nonetheless certified seven legal issues for class treatment. This overbroad interpretation of class certification threatens manufacturers by allowing a far broader range of claims to be brought against manufacturers than federal law allows. The NAM's amicus brief asks the Supreme Court to take the case and reverse the appellate holding. On March 18, 2019, the Court denied certiorari.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (November 13, 2018)