May 1, 2008

This e-mail from just came over the transom here at NAM HQ, delivered by our vice president for litigation and deputy general counsel. How Quentin found the transom is beyond us, but anyway, it seemed relevant.

CAFA Problems in the Seventh Circuit. Class action suits alleging violations of state consumer protection laws are being filed with increasing frequency, even though many members of the purported class of plaintiffs suffer no injuries and do not rely on the challenged marketing statements in making their purchasing decisions. These no-injury, no-reliance class actions expand liability beyond traditional limits and threaten to undo the benefits of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005. The NAM joined with the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers in an amicus brief 4/28 urging the Seventh Circuit to overturn a district court order that certified a class of plaintiffs from 29 states. We argue that courts should not undermine state consumer protection laws by lumping together claims under different state laws and ignoring the substantive differences between the applicable statutes. Liberal class certifications will make courts in the Seventh Circuit magnets that will unfairly expose manufacturers to extortion by litigation. Our brief in Thorogood v. Sears, Roebuck and Co. is online here .

Speaking of transoms, the English term is "fan light" and the French term is "vasitas." From the German: "Was ist das?"