Jerry Maatman Quoted in Insider Counsel "Dukes of Hazard; 9th Circuit decision paves the way for massive discrimination class actions"
04/05/2007
The article "Dukes of Hazard; 9th Circuit decision paves the way for massive discrimination class actions" in the April 2007 issue of Insider Counsel notes that "...In the wake of a recent 9th Circuit decision upholding certification of the largest discrimination class action in history... more troubling to employers is that the 9th Circuit made it much easier for class action plaintiffs to seek punitive damages by lowering the bar for certification under Rule 23(b)(2). Under that rule, courts may certify cases as class actions only if the primary relief sought is injunctive rather than monetary. The 9th Circuit relied on the plaintiffs' assertion that their primary objective was injunctive relief, even though they also sought punitive damages. The fact that those damages amount to billions of dollars does not mean that money was the "predominant" relief requested, the court ruled. Instead, "The predominance test turns on the primary goal of the litigation, not the theoretical or possible size of the damage award." Other circuits have denied class certification when plaintiffs sought punitive damages because class members' damages differ depending on their situation. For example, in 2006 the 5th Circuit denied certification in Colindres et al v. Goodman Manufacturing, saying that individuals "suffered differently under alleged discriminatory practices, [thereby making] class-wide punitive damages inappropriate. "The Dukes decision says that punitive damages can be determined in a class-wide setting. That's pretty revolutionary," says Gerald Maatman, partner in Seyfarth Shaw. "I suspect it will embolden the plaintiffs' bar to seek wide-ranging and very significant damages in employment class action cases."
