Initial Application Of The SCOTUS Dukes Ruling To Class Action Discovery Dispute

Rejecting an employer’s bid to use the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dukes, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. to shield it from class-related discovery requests, Magistrate Judge Maria-Elana James of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ordered Deere & Co. and John Deere Landscapes, Inc., to disclose the contact information of all putative class members in a nationwide gender discrimination in hiring lawsuit in Artis, et al. v. Deere & Co., Case No. 10-CV-5289 (N.D. Cal. June 29, 2011) [link to ruling]. In Dukes, the SCOTUS issued a landmark ruling on various facets of class certification in employment discrimination lawsuits, which we analyzed on the date of the decision here. Artis is significant as it is one of the first rulings to apply Dukes in an on-going class action lawsuit.

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