Overview
Goldman Sachs today filed notice that the Second Circuit had accepted its interlocutory appeal of Judge Baer's class certification decision in a case based on the sale by Goldman of certain mortgage-backed securities in 2006. In February, Judge Baer had cerfitied a class of all persons who purchased the securities, which were all part of a single $700 million offering in March 2006. In its opposition to the plaintiffs' motion for class certification, Goldman had argued that, given the sophistication of the institutional investors who had purchased the securities and the individualized circumstances of each sale, specific issues unique to each plaintiff would predominate, rendering class treatment of the claims inferior to individual adjudication. Rule 23(f), which governs interlocutory appeals of class certification decisions, is discretionary in nature. While Goldman's filing did not indicate why the Second Circuit had chosen to accept the appeal, generally a 23(f) appeal is only accepted if the certification decision turns on a novel or unsettled question of law, or when, as a practical matter, the decision on certification is likely dispositive of the litigation.