Class Actions
In today’s complex society, mass-produced consumer goods and transactions impact millions of citizens at a time. As the American Law Institute (ALI) has pointed out, the increased intricacies of daily life in today’s global world are an irreversible cause of increases in mass and class litigation. Class actions, Multi-District Litigation and mass litigation is a fact of life in today’s world. The attorneys at Smith Phillips have extensive experience in litigation on a class basis throughout the nation. The firm is an acknowledged leader in class litigation in Mississippi. Partner Richard T. Phillips has served as lead counsel in nationally certified classes, and is a recognized speaker at state and national symposiums on the subject.
Federal Rule 23 Class Action Litigation
Smith Phillips is a leader in federal class action litigation in Mississippi and throughout the nation. The firm has served as lead counsel and co-lead counsel in a numerous cases from coast-to-coast in which classes have been successfully certified under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure providing recoveries for millions of citizens. Smith Phillips has extensive experience in MultiDistrict Litigation and has served as class counsel in numerous cases consolidated for MDL purposes. Cases successfully handled on a class action basis include “Vanishing Premium” and Deceptive Sales Practices life insurance cases, Interest-crediting cases, Group Association Health Insurance cases, and actions under the Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification (WARN) Act for benefits for terminated employees.
For a sample of Federal Rule 23 class actions successfully handled by Smith Phillips, click here.
Mississippi Joinder Litigation
Smith Phillips has been an active leader in both class actions and joinder litigation in Mississippi. Partner Richard T. Phillips is the author of “Class Actions and Joinder in Mississippi,” 71 MISSISSIPPI LAW JOURNAL 447 (Winter 2001). He, along with participants from throughout the nation, was an invited panelist on the topic at the Mississippi School of Law and Mississippi Law Journal SYMPOSIUM: LITIGATION IN MISSISSIPPI TODAY, at Oxford Mississippi, in November of 2001.
Mississippi is unique in its mass litigation rules. Like most states, Mississippi adopted Rules of Civil Procedure based on the Federal Rules. Mississippi, however, chose not to adopt a state court class action rule comparable to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules. Thus, there are no "Rule 23 class actions" in state court in Mississippi. This unique posture with regard to class actions has given rise to a unique situation in the state with regard to joinder.
For many years, Mississippi state courts applied liberal joinder rules under Rule 20 to compensate for the absence of a class action rule. Smith Phillips has served as lead counsel in numerous cases where the claims of multiple plaintiffs were joined and litigated in single cases in Mississippi. In recent cases for individual life insurance holders and opt-outs from nationwide classes, numerous multi-million dollar recoveries have been obtained on behalf of Smith Phillips clients, including recoveries of $17 million, $26 million and $33 million in serious egregious cases which impacted large numbers of plaintiffs.
Abuses of the system by some litigants has caused the Mississippi Supreme Court to modify the rules of joinder in the state, making joinder more difficult. Because of its conservative approach to joinder, Smith Phillips has continued to enjoy success on behalf of its clients, even under new, more restrictive joinder rules. For an in depth look at the historical context and practical aspects of class actions and mass litigation in Mississippi, see "Class Actions and Joinder in Mississippi," Richard T. Phillips, 71 MISSISSIPPI LAW JOURNAL 447, the publication of Phillips' presentation at the symposium "Litigation in Mississippi Today."