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...

In the recent period, the Third Circuit has published a small number of opinions. Here are summaries of some of those decisions: Mallet and Company Inc. v. Lacayo, ___ F.4th ___ (3d Cir. 2021). This was a trade secret and unfair competition case. The specific subject was “baking release agents,” which are “lubricants that allow baked goods to readily separate from the containers in which they are made,” according to Judge Jordan’s opinion for the panel. Employees of plaintiff left that company to join defendants, allegedly taking with them trade secrets related...