Opinion ID: $opinion_id
Heading Depth: 2.0
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: $label

Text: Class certification is governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. Under Rule 23(a), the party seeking certifi cation must demonstrate, first, that:

“(1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable,

“(2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class,

“(3) the claims or defenses of the representative par ties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class, and

“(4) the representative parties will fairly and ade

quately protect the interests of the class” (paragraph

breaks added).

Second, the proposed class must satisfy at least one of the three requirements listed in Rule 23(b). Respondents rely on Rule 23(b)(2), which applies when “the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds that apply generally to the class, so that final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief is appropriate respecting the class as a whole.”2

Invoking these provisions, respondents moved the Dis trict Court to certify a plaintiff class consisting of “ ‘[a]ll women employed at any Wal-Mart domestic retail store at any time since December 26, 1998, who have been or may be subjected to Wal-Mart’s challenged pay and man agement track promotions policies and practices.’ ” 222 F. R. D., at 141–142 (quoting Plaintiff ’s Motion for Class Certification in case No. 3:01–cv–02252–CRB (ND Cal.), Doc. 99, p. 37). As evidence that there were indeed “ques tions of law or fact common to” all the women of Wal-Mart, as Rule 23(a)(2) requires, respondents relied chiefly on three forms of proof: statistical evidence about pay and promotion disparities between men and women at the company, anecdotal reports of discrimination from about 120 of Wal-Mart’s female employees, and the testimony of a sociologist, Dr. William Bielby, who conducted a “social framework analysis” of Wal-Mart’s “culture” and person nel practices, and concluded that the company was “vul nerable” to gender discrimination. 603 F. 3d 571, 601 (CA9 2010) (en banc).

Wal-Mart unsuccessfully moved to strike much of this evidence. It also offered its own countervailing statistical and other proof in an effort to defeat Rule 23(a)’s require ments of commonality, typicality, and adequate represen tation. Wal-Mart further contended that respondents’ monetary claims for backpay could not be certified under Rule 23(b)(2), first because that Rule refers only to injunc tive and declaratory relief, and second because the back pay claims could not be manageably tried as a class with out depriving Wal-Mart of its right to present certain statutory defenses. With one limitation not relevant here, the District Court granted respondents’ motion and certi fied their proposed class.3