In an unusual interlocutory appeal under Rule 23(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the Reform Act)[1]� imposes a heavier burden on plaintiffs seeking certification as class representatives in securities fraud actions than previously had been held by certain other courts.
In Berger v. Compaq Computer Corp.,[2]� the Fifth Circuit reversed and vacated a federal district court’s order certifying four plaintiffs as adequate representatives under Rule 23 and held that the Reform Act “mandates that class representatives, and not lawyers, must direct and control litigation.”
