Certain class action settlements—like employment and consumer settlements—will very often draw objections from absent class members. But other types of settlements with more sophisticated absent class members—like antitrust and securities—will often draw no objections at all.

Without any objectors, and thus no one contesting approval of the settlement, a district judge with busy docket will

In a recent published decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit clarified the standards that district courts must apply when certifying discrete issues–rather than an entire action–for classwide adjudication under Rule 23(c)(4).

What Is Rule 23(c)(4)?

Rule 23(c)(4) is an obscure part of federal class action practice. It states, simply,

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on March 30, 2021, in a case that will help clarify when an intangible, nonmonetary injury is sufficiently “concrete and particularized” to give rise to Article III standing.1 The Supreme Court’s decision will likely provide guidance for class-action plaintiffs seeking to bring (and class-action defendants looking to

Last March, The New York Times reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had been “quietly making overtures” to older Republican-nominated judges to encourage them to retire so that then-President Trump could fill their vacancies before the end of his term. After the 2020 presidential election, the Los Angeles Times reported that, reciprocally, some federal