The Rules Advisory Committee Study Agenda – Rule 23(e)

Amending Rule 23 would add clarity to the settlement process and teeth to the protection of absent class members.  But to solve the real class settlement process, the Advisory Committee will have to look at why so many weak claims advance so far into litigation.

For the next few months, excepting my usual year-end posts, I am going to be taking a longer look at the various items on the Advisory Committee's Study Agenda. And, in contrast to my usual stance in this blog, which tends to be "comment on the strategies, not the wisdom of the case," I am going to editorialize.  (Why?  Because Rule 23 has not been amended yet, and if it is, I'd like it to be in a way that makes class action litigation better and more effective when it's appropriate.)