Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP’s Michael H. Reed discusses the New Jersey Supreme Court’s ruling in Accutane. Reed notes that while the ruling should have a significant impact on Multicounty Litigation, the effect, if any, on class actions is still to be determined.
Certification is sometimes denied in tort class cases on the ground that it would be unworkable to apply the laws of many states in a single case. But it is inefficient to have multiple, individual cases proceed under different state laws when a court could apply a single state law to a single class case.