In what may be the most influential decision relating to class certification since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Amchem Prods. Inc. v. Windsor , 521 U.S. 591 (1997), the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has recently issued a sweeping opinion articulating standards of proof likely to have a tremendous impact on all class litigation.
The decision, In re Hydrogen Peroxide Antitrust Litig. , No. 07-1689, 2008 WL 5411562, carries significant weight because Chief Judge Anthony Scirica authored the December opinion. Scirica has served as the chairman of the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, on the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules and as chairman of the Judicial Conference Working Group on Mass Torts. In 2008, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. named Scirica as chairman of the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference. Over his lengthy career, Scirica has been extensively involved with reform of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.
