The Race To File Rule 23(f) Petitions: Not All Changes To The Class Certification Order Will Extend Your Deadline

Key Takeaway

In its recent decision in Wolff v. Aetna Life Insurance Co., et al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit adopted a materiality standard to determine whether modifications to a class certification order trigger a renewed fourteen-day period within which a party may seek interlocutory review.

In August 2023, the Third Circuit held that modifications to a class certification order will trigger a new Rule 23(f) petition deadline only when such modifications amount to material alterations to the original certification order.¹The court analyzed whether Aetna's 23(f) petition was timely when it was filed within fourteen days of the revised class certification order, but 195 days after the original order.²