united-states civil-law civil-procedure federal-courts class-action
Does a case continue if class certifcation is denied?
<p>If a <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_23" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Motion for Class Certification</a> is denied by the court, does the case continue?</p>
<p>I'm trying to research litigation against a specific US company and I've come across some cases in which the court has recently dismissed Motions for Class Certification. However, being unfamiliar with US law, I am unsure if these cases are still awaiting final decisions with respect to the plaintiff alone despite the denial of class certification.</p>

<p><strong>If a Motion for Class Certification is denied by the court, does the case continue?</strong></p>
<p><strong>YES</strong> Unless there is some other reason why not.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>CLASS CERTIFICATION PROCEDURES ARE GOVERNED BY <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_23" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Rule 23(c)(1)(A)</a> of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 23): “At an early practicable time after a person sues or is sued as a class representative, the court must determine by order whether to certify the action as a class action.” <strong>If the court denies certification, the action will proceed as an individual action.</strong> The court should not consider the impact of denying class certification in making its ruling [2]</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>Ruling on Certification</p>
<p>If the court denies certification, <strong>the action will proceed as an individual action</strong>. The court should not consider the impact of denying class certification in making its ruling.[29]</p>
<p><a href="https://www.lexisnexis.com/lexis-practical-guidance/the-journal/b/pa/posts/making-the-motion-for-class-certification-federal" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Source</a>, and my emphasis.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Footnotes [2] and [29] refer to <a href="https://cite.case.law/frd/142/406/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kovaleff v. Piano, 142 F.R.D. 406, 408 (S.D.N.Y.)1992</a> and both comment that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>... whether denial of class certification would result in the putative class never obtaining relief is irrelevant to whether the named plaintiffs meet the requirements of Rule 23.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A relevant extract from the cited case, at 408, is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>While the Court was initially concerned about the fact that denial of class action status here might well foreclose the possibility of any action being brought on behalf of the class, see Korwek v. Hunt, 827 F.2d 874 (2d Cir.1987), the Court is now convinced that that circumstance is irrelevant to whether these plaintiffs meet the requirements of Rule 23.</p>
</blockquote>
