According to the Daily Pilot and the California Chronicle, a California lawmaker has introduced a bill, AB 298, to allow defendants to file interlocutory appeals of class certification decisions. The bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman Van Tran, has authored a guest blog post on The California Civil Justice Blog explaining the objectives behind the bill, which include helping the state’s economic recovery by promoting a better climate for business.
It is unclear from the news articles or Tran’s blog post whether the bill would allow interlocutory appeal as of right or whether appeals would be discretionary, as they are under Rule 23(f), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Either way, the goal of creating an economic impact of any significance by simply allowing class action defendants to appeal class certification decisions seems somewhat overly optimistic, even assuming that the bill has any chance of passage. Previous class action reform bills introduced over the past few years have not fared well, according to the California Chronicle article.
Holy Bogus Legislation Attempt Batman!
What a crock of complete consumer hating crud. I’m with you on your opinion Paul. This likely doesn’t have a shot of passing in California and I hope that more right wing slanting states don’t get the idea they can go this route either. Obviously, I’m a bit biased in my opinions supporting consumer rights, but taking class action certification out of the Judicial system’s hands and putting it into State Legislator’s control will only completely skewer the class action system nationwide.
The majority if complaints I receive on Top Class Actions (viewable by attorneys for free by the way) are from California, Texas and Florida residents. Allowing companies to appeal their class action certification in California would have a huge detrimental impact nationwide. McGee v Ross, which just paid out to the affected class, would have been stopped in its tracks most likely. I think the 65,000 people who viewed the lawsuit at Top Class Actions would disagree with this bill as well.
I’ll be curious to see how this goes, but I think it’ll sink pretty quickly.
One question Paul, is the picture at the top of the blog of you at the ruins near Mt. Vesuvius? It looks quite familiar to me…
Warm Regards,
Scott
Scott Hardy
President and CEO of Top Class Actions LLC
“Top Class Actions connects you to lawsuits, settlements and attorneys. Don’t miss out on the only legitimate free money on the internet. Submit your claims on open settlements now at http://www.TopClassActions.com.”