China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh

This case asked whether people who were unnamed members of an earlier proposed class action can file a new class action after the statute of limitations has run. The Supreme Court said American Pipe tolling lets those class members bring individual claims later, but it does not let them start a successive class action outside the filing deadline.

The case was decided on June 11, 2018, but the prompt does not provide the vote count or opinion lineup.

The decision limits how long class-action disputes can keep restarting through new lead plaintiffs. For example, investors who were absent members of an earlier securities class case may still sue individually later, but they cannot launch a new class case after the deadline has expired.

The Supreme Court has finished this docket action. In practice, lower courts and future class-action litigants must apply this rule when deciding whether a later-filed case can proceed as a class action.

The Court considered whether unnamed members of an earlier proposed class case could file a new class action after the statute of limitations ran out. It said no, though later individual suits may still be allowed.

People who were absent members of an earlier proposed class action are most affected. They may need to file individual claims instead of trying to restart the case as a new class action.

The Supreme Court's work in this case is over. Lower courts will now use this rule when later class-action filings are made after the normal deadline.