The headline is the view presented in an October 31, 2014 post by Paul Karlsgodt at the ClassActionBlawg.com. The point he makes in general is that defendants seldom like discrete issue class actions, but the discrete issue class action cases are making a come back after they fell out of favor in the mid 1990s, as described in a partisan post in October 1995 from the Manhattan Institute regarding Judge Posner’s opinion in the Rhone Poulenc blood contaminant litigation. That ruling was a turning point in the move away from discrete issue class actions. As Mr. Karlsgodt points, out, however, Judge Posner recently wrote a ruling that identifies the prospects for useful discrete issue class actions.
A take away? Legal rules change, litigation cycles change, and judicial and academic sentiments change, all influenced by developments in society and business models, among other variables.