Adam v. Barone, ___ F.4th ___ (3d Cir. 2022). [Disclosure: I am one of the counsel for the successful plaintiff in this case]. Here is how Judge Smith began his opinion for the Third Circuit today in this putative consumer class action case: “Cindy Adam was charged nearly $100 for what she believed were free samples of beauty products. After complaining about the charge, she was offered the chance to return the items so that she might obtain a refund. Adam refused and eventually filed this lawsuit. The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed her complaint,...

Allen v. Ollie’s Bargain Store, Inc., ___ F.4th ___ (3d Cir. 2022). This blog has reported on several Third Circuit cases in which a unanimous panel opinion was accompanied by a concurrence signed by all three judges (here and here), or by two out of three of those judges (here), including the author of the panel opinion. Last Friday, however, Judge Porter wrote both a class certification opinion for a unanimous panel and a concurring opinion that addressed an issue that the panel decision declined to reach. This was an Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) case....

Laudato v. EQT Corporation, ___ F.4th ___ (3d Cir. 2022). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f) states that “[a] court of appeals may permit an appeal from an order granting or denying class-action certification under [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23], but not from an order under Rule 23(e)(1).” There is no explanation in Rule 23(f) as to when such permission should be granted. In this opinion by Judge Smith, which involved an unusual District Court ruling on a motion for class certification, the Third Circuit amplified the standard that it applies and distinguished that standard from...