Class Action Standards in Crisis: Whether Common Merits Questions Predominate Does Not Depend on the Questions & Answers

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J. Douglas Richards, May 13, 2009

In recent class action case law, the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, and Third Circuits have modified governing legal standards that had been established law for decades, explicitly overruling some precedents and arguably adopting a new paradigm for class action certification. Unfortunately, however, recent opinions have engendered widespread confusion and disagreement conce