Yesterday, in Balser v. Hain Celestial Group, Inc., No. 14-55074, the Ninth Circuit issued a memorandum opinion that may spell the beginning of the end for the Central District of California Local Rule 23-3.  Rule 23-3 states:

Within 90 days after service of a pleading purporting to commence a class action other than an action subject to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, P.L. 104-67, 15 U.S.C. § 77z-1 et seq., the proponent of the class shall file a motion for certification that the action is maintainable as a class action, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

(emphasis added).  The Local Rule dates back to a time when Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(1)(A) required class certification to be decided “as soon as practicable,” rather than the current “at an early practicable time.”

In the Balser decision, the Ninth Circuit casts serious doubt as to whether the 90-day rule remains viable:

the schedule contemplated by Central District of California Local Rule 23-3, when considered alongside federal rules regarding status conferences and the timing of discovery, is quite unrealistic in light of recent case law regarding the need to establish a sufficient factual record at the class certification stage. See Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541, 2551 (2011); see also Barbara J. Rothstein & Thomas E. Willging, Federal Judicial Center, Managing Class Action Litigation: A Pocket Guide for Judges 9 (3d ed. 2010) (noting that local rules calling for specific time limits on class certification should be ignored as inconsistent with federal rules and obsolete).

(emphasis added).