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Brief Cited by Supreme Court Authored by UM Law Professor

The high court cited the brief written by UM Professor Sergio Campos in a case involving Tyson Foods.

Sergio CamposAn amicus brief authored by University of Miami School of Law Professor Sergio Campos, and signed by other law professors, was cited Tuesday in the Supreme Court ruling in Tyson Foods, Inc., v. Bouaphakeo.

The court ruled against Tyson, adopting the positions in the brief written with Loyola Law School’s Adam Zimmerman. In writing for the majority, the Court rejected Tyson’s argument of bifurcation procedures proposed by the plaintiffs in the class action case.

The court wrote: It follows that the Court would reach too far were it to establish general rules governing the use of statistical evidence, or so-called representative evidence, in all class action cases. Evidence of this type is used in various substantive realms of the law. Brief for Complex Litigation Law Professors as Amici Curiae 5–9; Brief for Economists et al. as Amici Curiae 8–10. Whether and when statistical evidence can be used to establish classwide liability will depend on the purpose for which the evidence is being introduced and on “the elements of the underlying cause of action,” Erica P. John Fund, Inc. v. Halliburton Co., 563 U. S. 804, 809 (2011).

“We're still reviewing the opinion, but our strategy of neutrally explaining the ways statistics are used in complex litigation – and cautioning against a sweeping opinion barring their use – really seemed to resonate with Kennedy and the majority,” said Campos.