The Supreme Court today issued a new opinion addressing the timing of requests to appeal class certification rulings. The decision gives practitioners another new reason to be especially careful when plotting potential appeals.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f), circuit courts have virtually unfettered discretion to “permit an appeal from an order granting or denying class-action certification.” The timing for petitioning such an appeal, however, is more firm: “A party must file a petition for permission to appeal with the circuit clerk within 14 days after the order is entered…”
So, what happens when a district court grants or denies class certification, and then one of the parties moves for reconsideration of that order — rather than immediately petitioning for appeal?
The circuit courts typically allow intervening motions for reconsideration, followed by appeals, as long as the motion is filed within 14 days of the certification ruling, and the petition is filed within 14 days of the reconsideration ruling.
But under the Supreme Court’s new ruling in Nutraceutical Corp. v. Lambert., the filing of a motion for reconsideration may waive the ability to later take an appeal. In Lambert, the plaintiff waited 20 days from a decertification order to move to reconsider — and then, after that motion was denied, petitioned for appeal 14 days after the denial.… Read more