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Court Certifies Class in Wal-Mart Case

By Jeffrey S. Klein and Nicholas J. Pappas
May 29, 2007

On Feb. 6, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, affirmed the district court's certification of a nationwide class of approximately 1.5 million current and former female employees who were employed at one or more of Wal-Mart's 3400 stores across the county.

The court's ruling in Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 474 F3d 1214 (9th Cir. 2007) ('Dukes II') is significant due to the 'historic' nature of the plaintiffs' motion, which sought approval of 'the largest certified class in history,' and because many of the court's findings, if they stand, undoubtedly will form part of the judicial debate in other jurisdictions as to the appropriate standards in analyzing the availability of class certification in large employment discrimination cases.

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