Appeals Court Embraces An “Issues Class”

A federal appellate court has endorsed the certification of an “issues class” for a case involving alleged contamination of groundwater for 540 properties.

By taking a broad view of class certification based solely on certain issues, the decision paves the way for plaintiffs to obtain class certification even where issues of actual injury, causation, and damages will have to be tried separately. With this ruling, the Sixth Circuit joins four other circuits in embracing the broad view of class certification. The decision may pave the way for wider use of class actions.