The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday grilled lawyers in a high-profile class action about a controversial procedural tool that allows plaintiffs to appeal a class certification order by dismissing their own case.
The case, Microsoft v. Baker, is one in which the Supreme Court delayed oral arguments after Justice Antonin Scalia died last year. The issue is a critical one in class actions, where certification rulings can make or break the case. In many cases, plaintiffs attorneys have little desire to continue pursuing individual claims once they lose class certification.
