Brennan v. Midwestern United Life Insurance Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
450 F.2d 999 (1971)
- Written by Mary Phelan D'Isa, JD
Facts
Midwestern United Life Insurance Company (Midwestern), the defendant in a class-action lawsuit, sought post-certification discovery from absent plaintiff-class members (movants). Midwestern sought the discovery to learn the identity and amount of the absent class members’ claims and to get information about some of Midwestern’s defenses. The movants opposed the discovery and argued that the notice of the action they received led them to believe that no action on their part—including furnishing discovery information—was required to join the class. The movants contended that subjecting them to party discovery is inconsistent with the notion of class-action representation in which absent class members remain outside the principal action.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Swygert, C.J.)
Dissent (Stevens, J.)
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