Front-Loading, Avoidance, and Other Features of the Recent Supreme Court Class Action Jurisprudence

This Article discusses each of the thirteen Supreme Court decisions with the goal of drawing at least tentative conclusions for their impact on federal class practice. The thirteen decisions may be placed into five groups. Only three of the cases directly involve the general interpretation and application of Rule 23, while the other ten fall into four particular substantive areas. Reflecting these divisions, this Article proceeds in five parts.

Part I discusses the three cases directly interpreting Rule 23. Part II addresses the three decisions involving securities classes brought under Rule 10b-5. Part III discusses the three decisions involving the Federal Arbitration Act. Part IV engages the two decisions addressing the non-party status of class members.

And Part V concerns those decisions interpreting specialized grants of federal jurisdiction.