Monday, May 23, 2016

Karl Ebert v. General Mills, Inc.

<> Karl Ebert  v.  General Mills, Inc. - 5/20/16. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, Case No. 15-1735. General Mills, Inc., challenges the district court's grant of class certification in this environmental-contamination lawsuit.1 Plaintiffs, all owners of residential properties in a particular neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sued General Mills, alleging General Mills caused the chemical substance trichloroethylene (TCE) to be released onto the ground and into the environment at a former General Mills facility, located within the same neighborhood --  the district court certified a proposed class. Because the class lacks the requisite commonality and cohesiveness to satisfy Rule 23, we reverse.