Cite as: 521 U. S. 591 (1997)
Opinion of the Court
Justice Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court. This case concerns the legitimacy under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure of a class-action certification sought to achieve global settlement of current and future asbestos-related claims. The class proposed for certification potentially encompasses hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of individuals tied together by this commonality: Each was, or some day may be, adversely affected by past exposure to asbestos products manufactured by one or more of 20 companies. Those companies, defendants in the lower courts, are petitioners here.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania certified the class for settlement only, finding that the proposed settlement was fair and that representation and notice had been adequate. That court enjoined class members from separately pursuing asbestos-related personal-injury suits in any court, federal or state, pending the issuance of a final order. The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated the District Court's orders, holding that the class certification failed to satisfy Rule 23's requirements in several critical respects. We affirm the Court of Appeals' judgment.
I
A
The settlement-class certification we confront evolved in response to an asbestos-litigation crisis. See Georgine v. Amchem Products, Inc., 83 F. 3d 610, 618, and n. 2 (CA3 1996) (citing commentary). A United States Judicial Convada, Michael F. Easley of North Carolina, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, W. A. Drew Edmondson of Oklahoma, James S. Gilmore III of Virginia, and Calvin E. Holloway, Sr., of Guam; for the Asbestos Victims of America by Maynard Ungerman; for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America by Jeffrey Robert White and Howard F. Twiggs; for Law Professors by Charles Silver and Samuel Issacharoff; for Owens-Illinois, Inc., by James D. Miller; and for Trial Lawyers for Public Justice by Leslie A. Brueckner and Arthur H. Bryant.
597
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007