GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2006
Status
Accepted
Abstract
This article discusses the ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Phillips Petrolem v. Shutts, 472 U.S. 797 (1985), regarding the right of an absent class member to opt out of a class action. The article addresses both the current prevailing understanding of Shutts, which is based on the personal jurisdiction strain of due process jurisprudence, and what the authors believe is a more useful understanding, based on the property rights strain of due process jurisprudence. As an addendum to the article, the authors propose a new civil procedure rule governing class actions that would implement their ideas about opt-out rights and class action governance more generally.
SSRN Link
http://ssrn.com/abstract=975231
Recommended Citation
Alan B. Morrison & Brian Wolfman, What the Shutts Opt-Out Right is and What it Ought to Be, 74 UMKC L. Rev. 729 (2006).