The Judicial
Conference's Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure last week
approved a recommendation from its Advisory
Committee on Civil Rules to amend Federal Rule
of Civil Procedure 23(f) authorizing
the interlocutory appeal of class action certification rulings.
"The interlocutory
appeal provision will facilitate the development of precedent in this
rapidly expanding area of federal practice,"
said U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Paul V.
Niemeyer, chair of the Civil Rules Advisory
Committee.
The Advisory
Committee had declined to approve and forward to the Committee on
Rules of Practice and Procedure two
proposed changes to Rules 23(b)(3 )(A) & (B). The
advisory committee approved but deferred
transmission of proposed Rule 23(b)(3)(C) relating
to a "maturity" factor in considering
class action certification motions. It also will reconsider a
proposed change to Rule 23(c)(1) authorizing
district courts to rule on class action certification
motions "when practicable."
The Advisory
Committee left open for further discussion questions about whether to
approve settlement classes, class action
notices with optin provisions for certain types of
smalldamage class actions, and class
action certification based on economic realities. Judge
Niemeyer said that the discussion of
these matters will resume at the Advisory Committee's next
scheduled meeting October 67 in Salt
Lake City, Utah.
The Committee
on Rules of Practice and Procedure, which met June 1920 in Washington,
D.C., is chaired by U.S. District Court
Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler. It acted on
recommendations adopted by the Civil
Rules Advisory Committee at its meeting May 12.
Proposed amendments approved by the
Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure last
week will be forwarded to the Judicial
Conference of the United States for consideration at its
next meeting in September 1997. If approved
by the Conference, the amendments are
transmitted to the Supreme Court. The
Court normally transmits proposed rules amendments to
Congress by May 1 of each year. If Congress
does not enact legislation to reject, modify, or
defer the rules, they take effect as
a matter of law on December 1.