dispositions. However, while this rate remained relatively stable over the study years in cases with final judgments, the rate increased significantly among cases with interim dispositions. It is actually the number of interim dispositions, likely entered before commencement of class action activity, which has driven the overall increase in percentage of cases with no certification activity. The significant rise in the percentage of cases with no class certification activity seen in the interim disposition category may be a result of an effort in California to provide specialized court management to cases involving complex litigation. In 2000, California instituted the Complex Civil Litigation Program in six of the largest California courts, establishing separate departments in each court dedicated to hearing only complex litigation cases. Use of these complex departments increased in the ensuing years as a result of greater program recognition. Cases from all six of these jurisdictions are included in the case review database and represent 81% of all disposed cases in the study (1,048 of 1,294 cases). The rigorous case management practices employed as part of the Complex Civil Litigation Program, including single assignment to judicial officers who are experienced in handling complex matters, frequent case management conferences and increased interparty communication, allow for early scrutiny of case issues in class actions filed in these courts.20 This may drive the observed increase in cases with interim jurisdictional (transfer and removal) and management (consolidation and coordination) dispositions prior to class certification activity because these issues are spotted earlier in litigation. Possible evidence in support of this conclusion can be seen in the difference between program courts and nonprogram courts in the rate of cases with no certification activity. In program courts, 75% of cases had no class activity compared to 65% in nonprogram courts, and the rate of cases with interim dispositions doubled in program courts over the study years. However, the over 40% rate of class action filings that reached a final judgment with no certification activity is also an interesting phenomenon. When viewed alongside the steady decline in both the certification rate and the rate of cases with motions for certification, it raises a question regarding the actual scope of the class action litigation in California. (See pages 10-11 for discussion.) There appears to be a significant gap between cases that are simply filed as class actions and those that are ultimately litigated as class actions. Motions for Certification Only 12.8% (166 of 1,294) of disposed study cases ever had a motion for certification. In addition, not only was the filing of motions for certification relatively infrequent overall, but the data also show a consistent decrease in the yearly rate of these motions over the study period, 20
See www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/innovations/documents/SI_Brief_ComplexCivLit.pdf
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