Constitutional Faces: The Women of Walmart try again

October 29th, 2011

No, not the Women of Walmart who posed in Playboy. I’m taking about the female plaintiffs in Wal-Mart v. Dukes. Here is a story about their new suit:

In the revised lawsuit, the plaintiffs narrowed their proposed class along geographic lines. The plaintiffs’ complaint seeks certification for a class that has suffered discrimination as current or former Wal-Mart employees in California.

Wal-Mart attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. said the plaintiffs’ arguments still rely on the same theories that the Supreme Court rejected. “These lawyers seem more intent on alleging classes for their publicity value than their legal virtue,” Boutrous said in a statement.

The revised complaint requests certification of injunctive and monetary relief classes under different provisions of the federal rules. Certification for a class seeking injunctive relief is sought under Rule 23(b)(2), whereas certification for those seeking monetary relief is sought under Rule 23(b)(3). In their prior complaints, certification was sought jointly under both rules. The complaint estimates that there are more than 45,000 women in each of the injunctive and monetary classes.