By Alexander M. Smith

Today, the Supreme Court hears oral argument  in Microsoft Corp. v. Baker, which addresses the question of whether a plaintiff may render a denial of class certification appealable by voluntarily dismissing his or her claims with prejudice.  (The Consumer Law Roundup’s earlier post on Baker is available here.)   As SCOTUSBlog notes, the case pits Microsoft, which argues that this strategy is “a thinly veiled end-run” around both Rule 23(f) and the general rule prohibiting interlocutory appeals of denials of class certification, against the plaintiffs’ bar, which argues that this strategy satisfies the rule against interlocutory appeals by providing an order of dismissal, which is “the paradigmatic final order suitable for appellate review.” 

We will provide an update about oral argument shortly.