On July 9, Law.com quoted Mike Ruttinger in “Sixth Circuit Clarifies Certification of Nationwide Class Actions, Plaintiffs Pick Preemption Argument in Gardasil Appeal.” The article addresses the Sixth Circuit’s recent 9-7 en banc ruling that reversed the certification of 26 subclasses of 800,000 drivers across multiple states alleging that General Motors sold cars with defective transmissions. The decision ruled that the class certification was too general in addressing commonality and failed to consider the various impacts of the alleged defects on each driver, and questioned whether commonality took precedence over individual issues.

“This was an issue that the Sixth Circuit had already addressed several times in recent years, albeit not through a decision of the en banc court,” Mike said. “Going forward, the holding in Speerly should guide district courts within the Sixth Circuit on how to conduct the ‘rigorous analysis’ precedent required before certifying a class. In this sense, we think that Speerly clarified – but did not change – class action law in the Sixth Circuit.”

Read more in our Client Alert here. The law.com article is available for subscribers on its website here.