As was reported yesterday the plaintiffs in the 2011 landmark class action case Dukes v. Wal-Mart haven't given up and are now attempting to pursue regional class cases in federal courts in California, Tennessee, Texas, Florida and Wisconsin. In an attempt to overcome the issues raised by the U.S. Supreme Court, counsel for the Wal-Mart plaintiffs contend the narrower, regional classes pass muster because they are geographically focused and allegedly identify specific store, district and regional practices that led to the alleged discriminatory practices. Counsel for Wal-Mart contends the plaintiffs' class certification motion merely "recycles" arguments previously rejected by the high court, noting the remaining differences between the individual plaintiffs in each of the proposed classes.
Do these new regional classes meet the standards announced in Dukes v. Wal-Mart? How have the plaintiffs overcome the conflicts present in the initial classe, such as including female managers and their female subordinates in the same class?
