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Christensen v. Philip Morris USA Inc.6/8/2005
he EEOC, other former employees initiated a class action against the employer, claiming discrimination. Parker subsequently filed an action in federal court, within ninety days of the date that class certification was denied, but two years after obtaining his "right to sue" letter. Id. at 347-48. The employer argued that American Pipe was limited to intervenors, and did not toll limitations for class members who filed their own actions. The district court awarded summary judgment to the employer, ruling that Parker had failed to file his suit within ninety days of receiving his "right to sue" letter, as required under Title VII. Id. at 348.
The Supreme Court considered whether the filing of a class action tolls the applicable statute of limitations, so as to permit "all members of the putative class to file individual actions in the event that class certification is denied," so long as it is accomplished within the time that remained on the limitations period. Id. at 346-47. Relying on American Pipe, it ruled that Parker's suit was timely. Id. at 351-52. The Court said: "While American Pipe concerned only intervenors, we conclude that the holding of that case is not to be read so narrowly. The filing of a class action tolls the statute of limitations `as to all asserted members of the class,' not just as to intervenors." Id. at 350 (citation omitted).
In reaching its conclusion, the Supreme Court underscored the role of class action tolling in facilitating the important objectives of FRCP 23. It said, id. at 350-51:
A putative class member who fears that class certification may be denied would have every incentive to file a separate action prior to the expiration of his own period of limitations. The result would be a needless multiplicity of actions -- precisely the situation that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and the tolling rule of American Pipe were designed to avoid.
Further, the Court reasoned that a tolling rule does not frustrate the objectives of statutes of limitations, stating:
The Court noted in American Pipe that a tolling rule for class actions is not inconsistent with the purposes served by statutes of limitations. 414 U.S. at 554. Limitations periods are intended to put defendants on notice of adverse claims and to prevent plaintiffs from sleeping on their rights, but these ends are met when a class action is commenced. Class members who do not file suit while the class action is pending cannot be accused of sleeping on their rights; Rule 23 both permits and encourages class members to rely on the named plaintiffs to press their claims. And a class complaint notifies the defendants not only of the substantive claims being brought against them, but also of the number and generic identities of the potential plaintiffs who may participate in the judgment. The defendant will be aware of the need to preserve evidence and witnesses respecting the claims of all the members of the class. Tolling the statute of limitations thus creates no potential for unfair surprise, regardless of the method class members choose to enforce their rights upon denial of class certification.
Id. at 352-53 (internal quotations and some citations omitted).
The Supreme Court concluded, id. at 353-54:
We conclude, as did the Court in American Pipe, that "the commencement of a class action suspends the applicable statute of limitations as to all asserted members of the class who would have been parties had the suit been permitted to continue as a class action." 414 U.S. at 554. Once the statute of limitations has been tolled, it remains tolled for all members of the putative class until class certification is denied. At that
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