United States Third Circuit

District court's certification of a class of direct purchasers of hydrogen peroxide and two persalts is vacated and remanded. Class certification under Rule 23 requires: 1) findings by the court, not merely a "threshold showing" by a party, that each requirement of Rule 23 is met; 2) the court's resolution of all factual or legal disputes relevant to class certification, even if they overlap with the merits; and 3) the court's consideration of all relevant evidence and arguments, including expert testimony offered by any party.

Appellate Information

• Argued 04/17/2008
• Decided 12/30/2008
• Published 12/30/2008

Judges

• Before:  SCIRICA, Chief Judge, AMBRO and FISHER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Steven E. Bizar, Esquire (Argued), Landon Y. Jones III, Esquire, Thomas P. Manning, Esquire, Howard D. Scher, Esquire, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, Philadelphia, PA, for Appellants, Arkema Inc. and Arkema France SA., Michael I. Frankel, Esquire, Joseph A. Tate, Esquire, Christine C. Levin, Esquire, Dechert LLP, Philadelphia, PA, for Appellant, FMC Corporation., Jeffrey S. Cashdan, Esquire, Stephen P. Cummings, Esquire, Christine A. Hopkinson, Esquire, Catherine M. O'Neil, Esquire, King & Spalding, Atlanta, GA, Joanna J. Cline, Esquire, Barbara W. Mather, Esquire, Pepper Hamilton, Philadelphia, PA, for Appellants, Kemira OYJ and Kemira Chemicals Canada, Inc.


• For Appellees:
  
• Gregory K. Arenson, Esquire (Argued), Robert N. Kaplan, Esquire, Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer, New York, NY, Anthony J. Bolognese, Esquire, Bolognese & Associates, Philadelphia, PA, William P. Butterfield, Esquire, Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll, Washington, D.C., for Appellees, Artco Chemical, Inc., Astro Chemicals, Inc., Borden & Remington Corporation, Chem/Ser, Inc., EMCO Chemical Distributors, Inc., Finch Pruyn and Company, Inc., Interstate Chemical Company, Lensco Products, Inc., Lincoln Paper & Tissue, LLC, Ohio Chemical Services, Inc., James R. Pacific, Robert Chemical Company, Inc., Safer Textile Processing Corporation, Young Chemical Company, City of Philadelphia, Borough of Middletown and Middletown Borough Authority., Steven A. Kanner, Esquire, Freed Kanner London & Millen, Bannockburn, IL, for Appellees, Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs and EMCO Chemical Distributors, Inc.