Class Action by Prisoners Continues, Even as Representative Prisoner is Relocated

A class action suit brought by prisoners can still stand, even if the representative prisoner is relocated because of the susceptibility of mootness for an individual claim in this case

Richarson v. Dir. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 2106 BL 227670, 3d Cir., No. 15-2876, 7/15/16.

   The Third Circuit held that a class action suit by prisoners is still certified, even if the representative prisoner is relocated from the prison during the action. The court stated, “When individual claims for relief are acutely susceptible to mootness, a would-be class representative may, in some circumstances, continue to see class certification after losing his personal stake in the case.”

   In making this decision, the court relied on precedent from Weiss v. Regal Collections, 385 P.3d 337  (3d Cir. 2004), which provides that a claim for relief which is “susceptible to mootness” by the defending party can still stand if the representative class member has their own claim mooted.  The court found that this precedent withstood the test established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, which held that “a “class representative with a live claim of her own must be accorded a fair opportunity to show that certification is warranted.” In the case, however, the relevant corollary was that when a class action representative is denied a fair opportunity “[he] should be permitted to continue seeking class certification for some period of time after [his] claim has become moot.”   



http://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/document/Richardson_v_Fed_Bureau_of_Prisons_No_152876_2016_BL_227670_3d_Ci.