Supreme Court Weighs Certification Of A Class Including Uninjured Plaintiffs

In Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Davis (No. 24-304), the Supreme Court has the opportunity to decide whether a federal court may certify a class action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3) when some members of the proposed class lack any Article III injury. If the Court reaches the question presented, its ruling has the potential to send shockwaves through the high-stakes world of class action litigation, where defendants are often pressured to settle claims regardless of their merit when faced with potentially catastrophic damages awards. But a gleaming procedural infirmity appears likely to prevent the Court from doing so.

As background, laboratory service provider Labcorp introduced self-service check-in kiosks that blind patients were unable to use independently. Consequently, a group of such plaintiffs filed a putative class action against Labcorp alleging discrimination. The district court initially certified a class that excluded