Supreme Court Lets HMO Provider Suit Continue

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce was one of the groups that filed briefs supporting UnitedHealth's appeal.

The appeals court in Atlanta affirmed the certification of the 600,000-doctor class based on an analysis of whether the characteristics the doctors are supposed to have in common predominate over the matters that divide them, lawyers for the chamber write in their brief.

"This cramped analysis permitted a class certification based on generalized characterizations of the defendants' representations and plaintiffs' reliance ? for example, that defendants promised to 'honestly pay physicians the amounts to which they were entitled,' ? ? rather than a careful analysis of whether, in fact, common issues would predominate in the case," according to the chamber lawyers.

The chamber lawyers argue that some U.S. courts' moves to certify classes that are unworthy of class status expose U.S. corporations to the threat of unfair "blackmail settlements."

The Supreme Court decided against using the current Klay appeal as a vehicle for exploring the rules governing certification of classes. The court included the Klay case without comment on a long list of cases that it will not be reviewing this term.

Supreme Court docket information for the case is on the Web at http://www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/04-522.htm

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has posted a link to a copy of its brief at http://www.uschamber.com/nclc/news/alerts/ba041203b.htm