BarbriSFCourseDetails
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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    Live Online with Live Q&A

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Class Action and Other Litigation

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, August 28, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00

This course is $0 with these passes:

CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will examine how circuit courts exercise their discretion to permit or deny appeals under Rule 23(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the differences among the circuits on essential issues and standards. The panel will also discuss considerations for class counsel on either side of the certification issue if they wish to appeal (or hope to prevent an appeal) of the certification order. Finally, the panel will address the dismissal of Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings v. Davis, Doc. No. 24-304, (writ of certiorari dismissed as improvidently granted ) (U.S. June 5, 2025).

Faculty

Michael D. Leffel
Partner
Foley & Lardner LLP

Mr. Leffel is a partner and litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation matters, including class actions. Mr. Leffel is the chair of the firm’s Consumer Law, Finance & Class Action Practice. He is a member of the firm's Appellate, Consumer Financial Services, and Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practices. Mr. Leffel is an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he teaches “Complex Litigation.”

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Description

Rule 23(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure authorizes interlocutory review of class certification orders at the discretion of the federal courts of appeal. Litigants seeking interlocutory review must comply with strict procedural requirements under Rule 23(f), including a limited amount of time to appeal, but they do not need to seek leave of the trial court.

The Committee Notes to Rule 23(f) observe that appeals "may be granted or denied based on any consideration that the court of appeals finds persuasive." Nonetheless, all the courts of appeal have identified considerations they find more persuasive in permitting appeals, but no two are alike.

Listen as our panel examines how the federal courts address Rule 23(f) appeals and provides strategies for counsel for pursuing or opposing interlocutory review of a class certification decision. The panel will also address the recent Supreme Court Microsoft v. Baker ruling halting a plaintiff's ability to circumvent Rule 23(f) by voluntarily dismissing the underlying claims with prejudice after the district court denies certification.

Outline

I. Critical features of Rule 23(f)

A. No automatic right to appeal

B. No automatic stay of district court proceedings

C. Time to appeal

D. Standards of review

II. "Death knell" cases and "reverse death knell" cases

III. Blair approach

IV. Prado five-factor test

V. Variations of the Blair and Prado approaches

VI. Challenging motion for appellate review of class certification

VII. Lessons from Labcorp v. Davis

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What are the lessons for class counsel from recent case law addressing Rule 23(f) appeals?
  • What are key procedural requirements of Rule 23(f)?
  • What standards are the courts applying in granting or denying an interlocutory appeal of a certification decision?