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57 Stan. L. Rev. 1475 (2004-2005)
The Class Action Counterreformation

handle is hein.journals/stflr57 and id is 1489 raw text is: THE CLASS ACTION COUNTERREFORMATION Elizabeth J. Cabraser* INTRODUCTION: REFORM VERSUS COUNTERREFORMATION ............................... 1475 I. THE AMERICAN COURTS' CONTRASTING ATTITUDES TOWARD CLASSIC CLASS ACTIONS ................................................................................ 1479 II. MASS WITHOUT CLASS: EXISTING JOINDER ALTERNATIVES UNDER THE FEDERAL RULES.................................................................................................. 1485 A. Rule 20: Permissive Joinder ...................................................................... 1485 1. General standards for Rule 20 favor joinder ......................................... 1486 2. Courts have reached divergent conclusions on application of Rule 20's transaction requirement ................................................................. 1487 B. Rule 22: Interpleader................................................................................. 1492 C. Rule 42: Consolidation/Severance for Common Questions Trials ............ 1493 III. CLASS NOUVEAU: EMERGING VARIATIONS ON THE CLASS ACTIONS T H EM E ................................................................................................................ 14 99 A. Rule 23(c)(4)(A): Issues Classes........................................................... 1499 B. Classwide Punitive Damages Determinations ........................................... 1507 C. The New and Implied Preference for Class Actions over Representative Actions in Consum er Cases .......................................................................... 1512 D. The Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) ..................................................... 1514 E. The Opt-In Class.................................................................................... 1517 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................... 1519 INTRODUCTION: REFORM VERSUS COUNTERREFORMATION Class actions have been reformed to death. In Amchem Products Inc. v. Windsorl and Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp.,2 the Supreme Court transformed * Partner at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP (San Francisco, California). The office represents plaintiffs in class actions and other aggregate proceedings in the federal and state courts. I have represented clients in tort, consumer, and investment litigation, and I lecture frequently on these and other complex litigation topics, whether anyone is listening or not. I serve as one of the counsel of record for plaintiffs in the Exxon Valdez, Simon II, and Diet Drugs litigation referred to in this Article. Many thanks to David W. Marcus for his substantial contributions on the joinder alternatives discussion in Part II. 1. 521 U.S. 591 (1997). 2. 527 U.S. 815 (1999). 1475

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