PRACTITIONER BLOG
Read our analyses of developments in Impact Litigation and stay current on class action law
Impact Fund and NAACP Legal Defense Fund to SCOTUS: Don’t Rewrite Typicality
The Impact Fund and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of ourselves and twenty-four civil rights organizations. We argue that Ramirez indisputably satisfied typicality, as every class member in the case presented the same claims, were subject to the same conduct, and sought the same relief as Ramirez did. “TransUnion seeks to turn Rule 23 typicality on its head, asking the high court to rewrite the rule to protect defendants rather than absent class members,” declared Impact Fund’s Executive Director Jocelyn Larkin. “Nothing in the language or purpose of the rule supports TransUnion’s approach.”
Impact Fund & Amici to Eleventh Circuit: Eliminating Service Awards Endangers Class Actions
A recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals stunned the class action and civil rights community. In Johnson v. NPAS Solutions., LLC, 975 F.3d 1244, a 2-1 majority ruled that service awards for class representatives in class actions are categorically unlawful.On October 29, the Impact Fund filed an amicus brief calling on the full Eleventh Circuit to review the decision en banc. Our amicus brief on behalf of civil rights groups argues that service payments and incentive awards appropriately compensate plaintiffs for the considerable responsibility they undertake in class action cases and on behalf of fellow class members.