This month’s ITC wrap-up reviews a recent Commission opinion that examines the evidence a complaint needs to proffer to satisfy Section 337’s domestic industry requirement. Certain.
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On February 2, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s denial of class certification for failure to prove an administratively feasible method to identify absent class members. The Eleventh Circuit’s rejection of administrative feasibility as a prerequisite to certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 has deepened a circuit split on the issue.
In
Cherry v. Dometic Corporation, the plaintiffs brought a putative class action on behalf of purchasers of allegedly defective gas-absorption refrigerators used in recreational vehicles. The proposed class consisted of all individuals who had purchased certain models of the defendant-manufacturer’s refrigerators in selected states. The main issue at the class-certification stage was whether the proposed class satisfied the ascertainability requirement of Rule 23. This requires class representatives to establish that their proposed class is “
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On February 2, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit joined the Second, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits in holding that Rule 23 does not require proof of an administratively feasible method to identify absent class members. In so doing, the court rejected the heightened standard for ascertainability recognized by the First, Third, and Fourth Circuits. Nevertheless, the Eleventh Circuit reiterated that ascertainability which asks whether a class is adequately defined remains an implicit requirement of Rule 23. Moreover, while the administrative feasibility of determining class membership will rarely defeat class certification standing alone, it remains a factor for courts to consider when assessing the manageability of a class under Rule 23(b)(3)’s predominance requirement.
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Takeaway: Administrative feasibility is not a prerequisite for class certification in the Eleventh Circuit, although it remains a relevant consideration under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3)’s manageability factor. Manageability challenges, however, rarely prevent certification. There is a deep circuit split on this issue, with the Third, First, and Fourth Circuits applying a heightened standard for ascertainability that requires a class representative to propose an administratively feasible method of ascertaining class members at the class certification stage. The Eleventh Circuit, however, solidified the split by joining the Second, Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits in rejecting administrative feasibility as a class certification requirement.
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On February 2, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a significant decision holding that a putative class representative does not need to establish an administratively feasible method to identify absent class members as a pre-requisite for class certification under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23 (Rule 23). The case is
Deepening a circuit split, the Eleventh Circuit joined the Second, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits in concluding that administrative feasibility is not a pre-requisite for class certification under Rule 23. By contrast, the First, Third, and Fourth Circuits have held that administrative feasibility is a pre-requisite.