8th Circuit Court Finds Class Action Inappropriate to Resolve Neighborhood Claims for Damages Arising From Environmental Contamination

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Eighth Circuit found that a class action could not be sustained in an environmental pollution case because “the class lacks the requisite commonality and cohesiveness to satisfy Rule 23.”

 

In Karl Ebert v.  General Mills, Inc., No. 15-1735 (8th Cir. May 20, 2016), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found that the District Court erred in certifying a  proposed class of plaintiffs in an environmental pollution case because “the class lacks the requisite commonality and cohesiveness to satisfy Rule 23.” The case was remanded for further proceedings at the District Court.

 

In this its appeal to the Eighth Circuit, General Mills, Inc., challenged the District Court’s grant of class certification because each plaintiff will need to prove individualized issues of injury, causation, and damages.

 

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