American Pipe Dreams: More on Class Action Tolling

Abstract

This article analyzes the issues and arguments in the March 2018 Supreme Court appeal in China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh, on appeal from the Ninth Circuit. In the underlying class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that a fertilizer manufacturer and seller in China violated provisions of the Securities Exchange Act. The Supreme Court will decide whether an absent class member can bring a subsequent class action after the statute of limitations has expired. The Court will decide this in the context of the Court’s class action tolling provisions first articulated in American Pipe and Construction Co. v. Utah (1974).

Keywords: Class actions, tolling in class actions, American Pipe tolling, Securities Exchange Act, Securities Act, absent class members