Akin Gump Litigators Analyze 9th Circuit Ruling on Class Certification Motions
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Neal Marder and Michael Stortz, partners in the litigation practice at Akin Gump, along with counsel Andrew Jick and associate Markos Generales, have written the article “A 9th Circ. Shift On Timing For Class Cert. Motions,” which was published by Law360.
The article analyzes a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in ABS Entertainment Inc. v. CBS Corp, which involved four record companies that claimed in a class action that CBS infringed on ABS’s intellectual property rights without ABS’s permission. The authors write that the appellate court’s ruling invalidated a local rule in California requiring plaintiffs to file a motion for class action certification within 90 days of service of the complaint. The decision, they say, “brings a major change to class action litigation practice in the Central District of California, where the 90-day local rule places pressure on parties to conduct early discovery for class certification.”
The ruling, however, could “lead to similar holdings in other jurisdictions nationwide,” the authors write. As a result, they point out that local rules “that have been enacted in other judicial districts across the country are likewise at risk for being struck down by circuit courts seeking to follow in the 9th Circuit’s footsteps.”
To read the full article, please click here.
