Sex Bias claim against WalMart thrown out

[CatInASuit]

Not the individual cases that Walmart has been dealing with, but the large class action suit that was being put forward on the general principle of so many individual cases of sexual discrimination by the company.

The case was dismissed on the grounds that it failed to meet the technical requirement for being a class action as each individual case was different and there was not enough similarity between the claims.

WalMart will be mightily relieved at this outcome as it could have led to a massive lawsuit. Not to mention other large companies could also have faced major lawsuits due to the precedents set had they allowed it to go ahead.

More on the story here.

I do sometimes wonder if the reasons these cases go ahead are purely monetary and nothing to do with the general behaviour across the board.

[Hatshepsut]

Wow. IANAL, but it does seem like this will put a damper on class-action suits in general. Which is a shame, because a class-action suit generally seems like a much more reasonable approach. When it is just one claimant suing for damages, there is always a whiff of opportunism in the air, even if that is an unfair characterization. Whereas with a class-action suit, the focus on individual gain is minimized, and instead the merits of the wider issue are scrutinized. So without knowing whether the ruling was justified in this particular case, it really seems like a shame.

[Elendil's Heir]

Wal-Mart is such a huge operation, and the degree of discretion they give to local management is so great, that I can't say I'm too surprised by this decision by what has become a very pro-business Supreme Court. And Wal-Mart might even come to regret it, as it now has to defend or settle lots of cases (brought by plaintiffs' lawyers who will be staying in close touch with one another and comparing wnning strategies for years to come), rather than maybe winning one big class-action case on the merits.

I really don't expect much of an impact on class action litigation generally - Wal-Mart really is a one-of-a-kind business, given the scope and economic impact of its operations.

[Glazer]

I do sometimes wonder if the reasons these cases go ahead are purely monetary and nothing to do with the general behaviour across the board.

America is a very litigious country. If you watch daytime broadcast TV, you will see a lot of lawyers advertizing for class action suits.

[Sarahfeena]

I do sometimes wonder if the reasons these cases go ahead are purely monetary and nothing to do with the general behaviour across the board.

America is a very litigious country. If you watch daytime broadcast TV, you will see a lot of lawyers advertizing for class action suits.

OMG, yes. Tons of them. I don't think there's an illness or accident one can have that doesn't have a lawyer who's specialty is suing someone over it.

[Hatshepsut]

Yeah, when I go back to the US once a year and watch TV, I'm amazed at the advertisements for ambulance chasers.

For some reason, my 13 year old thinks that it's hilarious to joke, in any number of situations, "well, in that case, I'm American, so I'm going to SUE you!" Both my husband and I have to restrain ourselves from smacking him. It's NOT FUNNY, KID!

[CatInASuit]

Do americans ever have accidents or is it something that can always be blamed on someone else somehow?

I dread the UK going the same way.

[Elendil's Heir]

Accidents happen, sure, and sometimes no one's at fault. That's not to say someone still might not sue, though.

And in this case, it's hard for me to believe that so many women not being promoted is an "accident."