The US Supreme Court is deliberating on whether it can legitimately rule on Labcorp’s appeal to limit a class action initiated by blind plaintiffs. The plaintiffs contend that Labcorp’s self-service check-in kiosks at its diagnostic laboratories are inaccessible independently by those with visual impairments.
The case has garnered attention primarily due to procedural intricacies related to class certification. Earlier, a district court redefined the group of litigants after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had affirmed its certification—a point causing some justices to question the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction in this matter.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, among others, expressed skepticism regarding Labcorp’s position during the oral arguments heard on Tuesday. The question at hand is whether the justices have the authority to intervene following the class redefinition at the district court level.
Labcorp’s appeal attempts to prevent upwards of 100,000 Californians from being unified under the certified class. Judicial debate thus centers not solely on the substantive claims of accessibility but also on procedural rules governing the certification and redefinition process.
Those interested in the unfolding of the case and its broader implications for class certifications can read further on Bloomberg Law.