In Shady Grove Orthopedic Associates v. Allstate Insurance Co., a 5-4 majority, led by Justice Antonin Scalia, held that the federal class action rule, Civil Procedure Rule 23, trumped a New York law prohibiting class actions that seek to recover statutory penalties or minimal recoveries.
“The Court’s decision is good for those who use class actions as a remedy to corporate wrongdoing,” said Scott Nelson of Public Citizen Litigation Group, who argued the case for Shady Grove. “The Court did the right thing today.”
