Second Circuit Overturns Rule 23 Class Certification As Individual Inquiries “Overwhelm” Class Issues

On March 4, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a District Court’s decision to certify a class action against Nextel Communications, Inc. (“Nextel”) in Johnson, et al v. Nextel Communications, Inc., et. al., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 3470 (2d Cir. Mar. 4, 2015), which we previously blogged about here. In Johnson, the District Court certified a class action – pursuant to Rule 23(c)(4) – relative to the claims of 587 employees of Nextel who allege that Nextel, and the former plaintiffs’ law firm representing the employees, engaged in various illegal acts against them by entering into a Dispute Resolution Settlement Agreement (“DSRA”) to resolve their employment discrimination claims. The ruling provides yet another interesting spin on Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 131 S. Ct. 1426 (2013).

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