Genesis Healthcare May Be Merely the First Book in Bible on Mooting Class/Collective Actions

In the beginning, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Genesis Healthcare that an FLSA case is moot when the plaintiff accepts an offer of full relief. As we noted in our previous blog, the decision left open, however, the question of what happens when the plaintiff affirmatively declines the offer or when the offer expires, which is what happens in most cases (under Rule 68, an offer not accepted within 14 days is considered withdrawn). In addition, because Genesis Healthcare involved a collective action under the FLSA as opposed to a class action under Rule 23, the Supreme Court did not answer whether a Rule 68 offer of full relief to a class representative moots a wage-hour action that includes a Rule 23 claim under state law (or a case that involves only state law wage-hour claims). The Court may soon answer these questions and write the second, much-anticipated chapter in this legal saga.

To read more about this blog, click here.