Cvs Caremark Corporation v. John Lauriello; John Lauriello v. Cvs Caremark Corporation

Summary

The court affirmed certification of a class asserting fraud based on alleged concealment and misrepresentation during settlement of an earlier class action. It held that individual reliance did not defeat predominance because the alleged fraud was directed to class counsel and the class as a whole, and it rejected challenges concerning class counsel, class breadth, and the representatives' typicality and adequacy. The court also affirmed the decision to certify under Rule 23(b)(3), rather than Rule 23(b)(1), because the plaintiffs did not establish the required risk of inconsistent adjudications or a limited-fund circumstance. MURDOCK, Justice, dissenting, would have required a mandatory class because separate opt-out suits could produce inconsistent liability determinations.