Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, speaking during a panel discussion at the Federalist Society’s 2018 National Lawyers Convention, held at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 16, 2018.
An en banc panel reversed a court of appeals decision that lawyers on both sides had feared would make it nearly impossible to get approval of nationwide class action settlements.
Thursday’s split decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a 2018 opinion that had decertified a nationwide class action settlement with Hyundai Motor America Inc. and Kia Motors America Inc. after concluding the district judge had failed to analyze the consumer laws of several states. In re Hyundai and Kia Fuel Economy Litigation caused alarm for lawyers in both parties, and the decision has appeared in high-profile settlements.
