Ninth Circuit Vacates Final Approval Of National Settlement Class Action Certification

Last month, the Ninth Circuit vacated the certification of a nationwide class for settlement in the In re Hyundai & Kia Fuel Economy Litigation, No. 15-56014, 881 F.3d 679 (9th Cir. Jan. 23, 2018). The Ninth Circuit concluded that the district court abused its discretion because it failed to "conduct a rigorous analysis to determine whether the party seeking certification has met the prerequisites of Rule 23," specifically, whether variations in state law undermined the predominance requirement. Id. at 690. Parties involved in class actions, whether on a contested or a settlement basis, should carefully scrutinize Hyundai & Kia Fuel.

This case was originally brought in California state court. In January 2012, plaintiffs filed a putative nationwide class action in state court in Los Angeles County. See Espinosa v. Hyundai Motor Am., No. BC 476445 (Cal. Super. Ct. filed Jan. 6, 2012). These consumers sought relief pursuant to California consumer protection law and