9th Circuit Overturns Class-Action Certification Based on Wal-Mart Case

September 27th, 2011 by JBWK

The 9th Circuit last week overturned a class-action certification of certain female employees of the wholesaler Costco, relying on the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Wal-Mart, Inc. v. Dukes.

The Wal-Mart case, followed by the 9th Circuit Costco case, denied class-action status to broad swaths of female employees who alleged a systematic, nationwide culture of bias and discrimination. Both courts held that the female employees–potentially running into the tens or hundreds of thousands–did not show their claims were similar enough across the board to justify a class-action lawsuit.

Without class certification, the employees are left to seek relief individually on a case-by-case basis.

Comments are closed.