The use of a defendant class avoids costly multiple litigation and the danger of inconsistent adjudication of the same issue. Rule 23 expressly contemplates the possibility of defendant class actions and requires that the representative parties fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class members. In permitting such a class action to proceed, a district court determines adequacy of representation as a threshold matter. Moreover, the court has the power and the duty to ensure that all defendants be given adequate notice of the action and an opportunity to present individual defenses if desired. Should the court fail to afford any defendant due process, he would be entitled to have an adverse judgment set aside or reversed on appeal.
P applies in adversary proceedings.
The standards for class certification applicable to proceedings in bankruptcy courts are the same as in proceedings in district courts. Adequacy of the named representatives and their counsel is essential to absent class member protection. The adequacy requirement mandates an inquiry into the zeal and competence of the representative's counsel and the ability of the representative to take an active role in and control the litigation and to protect the interests of the absentees . . . . An absent class member will not be bound to a judgment wherein he was not adequately represented by the named plaintiffs. After a class action is filed, the named plaintiffs and their counsel must take into account the interests of the absent class members.