RBS v. Ross

Issue: Class Action Standards
Court: U.S. Supreme Court
Lower Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Questions Presented:
I. Whether it is consistent with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes to hold that a defendant to a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3) class action has no right to raise statutory affirmative defenses on an individual basis if the class seeks “only” monetary relief.
II. Whether a district court can conclude that the Rule 23(a)(2) commonality requirement is satisfied when a class claims the denial of overtime pay, without resolving whether dissimilarities in the class would preclude it from establishing liability on a class-wide basis.

RLC's Position:
The RLC urged the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari this case, which presents class action certification standard issues in the Fair Labor Standards Act context.

Case Outcome: In light of the Comcast decision, the Court granted certiorari, vacated the judgment, and remanded the case for further consideration.

Procedural History and Case Documents:

• Certiorari petition filed August 2012
• Certiorari granted, judgement vacated, and case remanded April 2013