Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Class Actions — American Pipe Tolling Applies to Individual Action Filed Pending Class Certification — Circuit Split

From Phillips v. E.I. Dupont de Nemours & Co., 521 F.3d 1028 (9th Cir. 2008):

The Sixth Circuit... [has] held that the purposes of class action tolling under American Pipe "are not furthered when plaintiffs file independent actions before decision on the issue of class certification." Wyser-Pratte Mgmt. Co., Inc. v. Telxon, 413 F.3d 553, 569 (6th Cir. 2005). Such purposes are only furthered "when plaintiffs delay until the certification issue has been decided." Id. *** [In] In re Worldcom Sec. Litig., 496 F.3d 245, 256 (2nd Cir. 2007)[, t]he Second Circuit has now held that American Pipe tolling does apply to plaintiffs who file their actions before a decision on class certification. *** We find the Second Circuit's reasoning persuasive and adopt it. We therefore conclude that members of the plaintiff-class who have filed individual suits are entitled to the benefits of American Pipe tolling.

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