Solving the Puzzle of Transnational Class Actions

90 Indiana Law Journal Supplement (2015)

Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 15-11

10 Pages Posted: 2 Mar 2015 Last revised: 10 Nov 2015

Date Written: March 1, 2015

Abstract

How should a U.S. class action treat proposed foreign class members in a circumstance where any resulting judgment will likely not bind those absentees abroad? The dominant approach has been an exclusionary one, dropping the absentees from the class. This essay instead recommends an inclusionary approach, so that all the foreigners would remain members of the class in transnational class actions. But the court should create a subclass in damages actions for the foreign claimants who might have an incentive to sue again; the subclass would proceed by the accepted technique of claims-made recovery, so that the subclass members could recover only by submitting a proof of claim along with a release.

Keywords: civil procedure, class actions, transnational litigation, res judicata

JEL Classification: K40, K41

Suggested Citation

Clermont, Kevin M., Solving the Puzzle of Transnational Class Actions (March 1, 2015). 90 Indiana Law Journal Supplement (2015), Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 15-11, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2571909

Kevin M. Clermont (Contact Author)

Cornell Law School ( email )

Myron Taylor Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
United States
607-255-5189 (Phone)
607-255-7193 (Fax)

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