The Baker Hostetler website has a new Executive Alert discussing the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Kartman v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co., Case no. 09-1725, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 2830, and its potential implications. Kartman addressed, among other things, the applicability of Rule 23(b)(2) to consumer class actions in which the ultimate goal is to recover money for class members. According to the Executive Alert:
This decision is significant in its rejection of the creative attempt to certify a class of consumer claims for injunctive relief, the analysis of the “finality” and “appropriateness” elements of Rule 23(b)(2) for which little authority exists, and the willingness to delve into the merits of the underlying claims to determine that class certification was not appropriate.
Congratulations to my partner, Mark Johnson, and the rest of his team in Columbus on their victory in the case on behalf of State Farm.
