The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s decision earlier this week, in a matter of first impression, found that a class representative has standing to sue in federal court on behalf of a class of consumers subject to laws outside her own state. The ruling created a precedent that could have a major impact on certification of nationwide consumer class actions, many of which have been challenged by defendants on standing grounds, a lawyer in the case said.

But the panel’s decision, while opening a door for standing to bring class actions generally, shut the door on class certification in the matter squarely before it.