Eleventh Circuit Rejects Administrative Feasibility Requirement: What Does the Future Hold for Ascertainability?
The Class Action Chronicle, courts have struggled to define the ascertainability requirement that is implicit in Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Several courts, including the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Third and Fourth Circuits, have required proof of administrative feasibility —
i.e., that the identification of class members will be a manageable process that does not require significant individual inquiry — as a prerequisite to class certification. Other courts, such as the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Circuits, have rejected that approach, finding that ascertainability does not mandate proof of administrative feasibility.