Third Circuit Takes Broad View of Rule 23(c)(4) Issue-Class Certification
On October 11, 2021 by Schnader in Class ActionIra Neil Richards and Layal A. Issa published a client alert, “Third Circuit Takes Broad View of Rule 23(c)(4) Issue-Class Certification.”
In its recent decision in Russell et al. v. Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit examined the crucial subject of issue-class certification under Rule 23(c)(4). The Rule states, “When appropriate, an action may be brought or maintained as a class action with respect to particular issues.” How courts apply this Rule is important to both plaintiffs and defendants in class action litigation because it may provide an avenue for class treatment of particular elements of claims without the burden of showing that the entire claim meets the requirements of Rule 23(a) and (b). In vacating the District Court’s decision, the Third Circuit took the “broad” view of Rule 23(c)(4), finding that issues do not have to be dispositive of liability to be certified.