Attorney Agrees Wal-Mart Case Too Large For Class Action

A Louisville attorney who has worked extensively in employment litigation says he agrees with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in a sexual discrimination case against Wal-Mart.The court ruled this week that the case involving more than 1.5 million plaintiffs cannot proceed as a class action.The case has become the largest civil rights class action suit in American history, and accuses Wal-Mart of discriminating against women, giving them lower pay and fewer promotions. The ruling against the women stated that the individuals in the class came from too many different backgrounds and situations to sue Wal-Mart as a class.Louisville attorney Jon Fleischaker says a huge class action suit is not the right approach in this case.“There may be defenses, for example, one woman may have been promotable, while another woman may have not been promotable, and should have been discharged, and, it is very hard to deal with those differences in a class action mechanism, and it’s very long, and very drawn out, and very expensive,” he said. Fleischaker says the plaintiffs may still pursue individual or smaller class action suits against the company.