Appeals Court Panel Unanimously Rules Against FedEx Ground in MDL - January 23, 2008

After the federal judge in the multi-district litigation certified the class for claims under the Kansas and ERISA laws, FedEx unsurprisingly went to the U.S. Appeals Court for the 7th Circuit to ask the class certification order be reviewed by the higher court.  The three judge panel for the 7th Circuit unanimously denied FedEx's request.  Like a dog chasing its own tail, FedEx is stuck in the cycle of appeal and lose, appeal and lose, appeal and lose.

And what did FedEx have to say about their latest loss in courts?  Nothing of substance just more denial .

In a decision received today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit declined to hear the request of FedEx Ground, an operating unit of FedEx Corp. for interlocutory review of the class certification decision in the Kansas case pending before the United States District Court in Indiana. The decision had granted class certification on the Kansas state claims and a national ERISA claim.

The court did not rule on the validity of the contractor model and has not decided class certification in any other multi-district litigation case. FedEx Ground will continue to vigorously defend the MDL.

This procedural ruling does not change any aspect of the FedEx Ground operation and we will continue to provide the world-class service our customers have come to expect.

The most likely next step in this case is that the federal judge in Indiana will certify most if not all of the other state claims.  The stakes will get raised even higher for FedEx after that.