Ninth Circuit Affirms Certification Of Largest Class Ever

In Dukes v. Wal-Mart, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) recently affirmed the decision of the Northern District Court of California to certify a class of women in a sex discrimination class action, estimated to cover an unprecedented 1.5 million class members. The class includes women formerly and presently employed with the retailer in both management and non-management roles at all Wal-Mart locations in the United States.

One of Wal-Mart’s main challenges to class certification was the lack of commonality and typicality necessary to certify a class under the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 23(a). Wal-Mart asserted that the class did not have the requisite commonality of facts and legal issues for certification purposes because the plaintiffs held different types of positions while employed at Wal-Mart, and they worked at different locations of the retailer nationwide, making their factual issues distinct. The Ninth Circuit rejected this