On January 24, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Davis, No. 24-304, and will attempt to resolve a circuit split regarding whether federal district courts can certify a class action under Rule 23(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure if some members of the proposed class lack a cognizable injury under Article III. The Supreme Court’s decision in this matter may send shockwaves through the class action legal field and could alter how class action law is treated in the years to come.
Case Background
The plaintiffs, a group of blind individuals (the Davis Class), initially sued Labcorp in the Central District of California under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the California Unruh Civil Rights Act (CRA) due to Labcorp’s self-service kiosks being inaccessible to blind patrons without assistance.
The district court initially certified two classes in the action: one under the CRA and a second under the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Affordable Care Act. In May 2022, Labcorp filed an interlocutory appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging the Davis Class’s Article III standing. Labcorp argued that because several members of the Davis Class lacked a cognizable injury and were not concretely harmed, they did not meet the requirements necessary to maintain Article III standing.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the Central District of California but provided little analysis in their decision.
Circuit Split
Labcorp subsequently filed its petition for a writ of certiorari in September 2024. In its petition, Labcorp specifically requests the Court to resolve the circuit split regarding whether plaintiffs who lack concrete injury under Article III can still remain as members of a class.
Labcorp identifies the Ninth Circuit as falling into a group that allows for class certification if only the named plaintiff has sustained an injury when other members of the class have not. However, the Second and Eighth Circuits have taken a stricter approach to class certification and have held that all members of the class need standing. The First and D.C. Circuits follow a “de minimis” rule, in that a class may contain no more than a “de minimis” number of class members who lack standing. Finally, the Seventh Circuit has held that a class may be certified unless a “great many” class members lack standing.
The briefing on this matter is scheduled for March and April 2025.
Legal Implications
Should the Supreme Court overturn the Ninth Circuit’s decision in favor of Labcorp, class action lawsuits may be curbed as it will be much harder for classes to be certified at the district court level. In 2023, 10,872 class actions were filed in the United States. Given the current makeup of the Court, it may side with Labcorp or, at the very least, finally provide some clarity to the circuit split.
