In Betty Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the Supreme Court ruled against the plaintiffs, Representing more than 1.5 million female workers, the lawsuit claimed that sex-based pay and promotion discrimination violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Lack of “commonality” was the Court’s main reason for dismissing the class-action lawsuit.
In class action lawsuit, commonality means that each member of the class has a similar legal problem that can be solved in the same manner for all. The Court, led by Justice Scalia, decided in a 5-4 ruling that the class did not meet the commonality requirement of Rule 23, which means that there were not enough “questions of law or fact” that were shared by the class. Scalia said that instead of just having a common issue, the plaintiffs also needed to have a common solution. The cases of the female employees could not be litigated together because they did not encounter the same discriminatory actions by the same managers in the same stores.
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Hello Myeesha, it is very clear the “commonality” issue being the decisive factor to the case not succeeding. There was a common issue but a common solution was not formed and thought of properly. It could be that had the plaintiffs gathered enough proposals there would have been more of an initiative to the case proceeding. The issue was also at a large stake with the mass number of women claiming different accounts of what they experienced and how they each wanted a solution that differed from one another. This also did not help with how well put the case was formed as they took the stance for recompensation. This could have gotten out of control if the court had not properly examined the case and let the case proceed as it was presented.
What exactly are you trying to say here? The term “commonality” in a Rule 23 lawsuit refers to the requirement that there be “questions of law or fact common to the class”. Essentially, the class action must have a central issue that, IF resolved, would benefit all members of the class.