THE LIMITS OF CONSENT: VOLUNTARY DISMISSALS, APPEALS OF CLASS CERTIFICATION DENIALS, AND SOME ARTICLE III PROBLEMS WILLIAM P. BARNETTE* I. II.
III. IV.
INTRODUCTION ..................................... ...... 452 ARTICLE III JURISDICTION-PRINCIPLES OF STANDING AND MOOTNESS ................................... ........... 454
A.
Standing
...............................
..... 454
B.
Mootness
...............................
.....
C.
GeneralProhibitionon Appealing Voluntary Dismissals
457
and Exceptions ................................ 458 SUPREME COURT ARTICLE III JURISPRUDENCE INVOLVING APPEALS FOLLOWING DISMISSALS IN PUTATIVE CLASS CASES.... 461 APPELLATE ARTICLE III JURISPRUDENCE FOLLOWING VOLUNTARY DISMISSALS WITH PREJUDICE IN PUTATIVE CLASS CASES ................................................... 470 A. Cases Focusing on Terms ofRelevant Settlement Agreement/Stipulation........................... 470
B. C.
Appellate Cases Applying StrictArticle Ill Analysis ............. 474 Analysis: Article III Should ProhibitAppeals of the Denial of Class CertificationFollowing Voluntary Dismissals with
Prejudice....................... 1.
............. 477
The Denial of Class CertificationDoes not Operate as
a Ruling on the Merits. Thus, the Exception to the General Prohibitionon Appealing a Voluntary Dismissal with PrejudiceDoes not Apply ..... 2.
...... 477
The PartiesCannot Consent to Jurisdiction. Thus, the Terms of a Settlement Agreement or Stipulation Are Irrelevantto DeterminingAppellate Standing.................. 479
3. There is No PracticalDistinction Between a Class Representative's Individual as Opposed to Class Claim Within the Meaning ofArticle III............. ............. 480
* William P. Barnette is Assistant General Counsel-Commercial Litigation for The Home Depot, where over the past decade he has led the successful defense of more than 150 class actions and other complex litigation matters. The views expressed in this Article are the author's alone.
451