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In 2017, the United States Supreme Court limited where plaintiffs can bring mass damages lawsuits inBristol-Myers Company. v.Upper cutruling thateachthe plaintiff in a mass damages lawsuit must demonstrate personal jurisdiction over their claims in order to comply with due process. Lower courts have since differed on how to deal with jurisdictional issues in other varieties of multiparty lawsuits. A division of the circuit has arisen as to how to applyBristol-Myersto class actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), with one opinion holding that each plaintiff in a FLSA class action must establish personal jurisdiction to bring any claim and another holding that each plaintiff in such an action need not do so.

On July 26, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held infishermanv.FedEx Corporation., that plaintiffs who failed to establish personal jurisdiction over their claims would not be able to join a putative FLSA class action. In holding this, the Third Circuit joined the United States Courts of Appeals for the Sixth and Eighth Circuits, which had reached similar conclusions, and expressly rejected the approach of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit inWaters v. Day and Zimmerman NPS, Inc.., which held that each plaintiff who opts for an FLSA class action need not establish personal jurisdiction over their claims in order to participate.

Despite a clear and ongoing circuit division on this issue, on March 6, 2023, the Supreme Court denied thefishermanpetition for certiorari of the plaintiffs. The status quo may encourage forum-seeking for plaintiffs seeking to file an FLSA class action. As other circuits address this issue, the circuit’s division may deepen and the Supreme Court may ultimately decide the matter.

Third Circuit Addresses Bristol-Myers’ Impact On Domestic Actions Filed In Federal Court, Deepening Circuit Divide.pdf (pdf | 83.82 KB )

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