The issue du jour for any company defending against a class action involving economic losses seems to be that of “standing”—or, whether a federal court has jurisdiction to issue a judgment against a defendant in any given case. If a defendant is successful in arguing that a court lacks standing to hear the case, then—for many class actions—it becomes the death knell for that case, requiring its dismissal. Ostensibly trying to clarify the standing analysis, over the past several years, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a slew of seemingly inconsistent rulings as to when the federal courts may hear a “case or controversy” consistent with Article III of the Constitution.

For consumers, however, making sense of these opinions is not difficult—so long as the plaintiffs’ lawyers are creative.