For the second time, a federal appeals court will examine the certification of a class of customers affected by Marriott International Inc.’s 2018 data breach. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit permitted Marriott’s petition for an interim review of a ruling in a November 29 ruling, granting class certification in the multi-district litigation surrounding the breach.
The court’s decision is a revisit of U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey’s much-debated order, which Marriott criticizes for ignoring both law and logic and potentially having significant implications. The company filed its petition for review on December 13, arguing that the Judge Bailey’s decision went beyond normative legal reasoning and could have serious consequences.
The stand of the recertification order could, indeed, have broad implications on class litigation, multi-district litigation and class-action waivers, as noted by Matthew Hellman, co-chairman of Jenner & Block’s appellate and Supreme Court practice. One can follow the developing story in more detail at its original publication.