Baker v. Microsoft Corporation Revisited: Video Gaming Company Seeks To Stop Class Action Plaintiffs From Shortcutting The Appeals Process

We recently reported on a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion reversing a district court's decision to strike class action allegations in a putative class action against Microsoft. Baker v. Microsoft Corp., No. 12-35946, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 4317 (9th Cir. Mar. 18, 2015). In Baker v. Microsoft Corporation, the Ninth Circuit panel of judges held that proof that individual class members were damaged by an alleged defect (here, a defect in Xbox 360 video game consoles resulting in scratched game discs) was not necessary for a class action to be certified. Id. at *20. You can read the full article here.

Microsoft has now petitioned the Ninth Circuit for a rehearing en banc, putting a spotlight on a strategy class action plaintiffs have employed to "end-run" the appeals process once they have been denied class certification. Namely, instead of pursuing individual claims to final judgment and then filing an appeal on...