The U.S. Supreme Court today reversed a Second Circuit ruling that upheld the right of New York to bar class actions seeking penalties under Empire State law.  The decision failed to net a majority, and as a result you'll need to study closely the concurrence and dissent to see what the Court actually said.  Shady Grove Orthopedic Assocs. P.A. v. Allstate Ins. Co., No. 08-1008 (U.S. Mar. 31, 2010).

Blawgletter said just before oral argument in Shady Grove and Jones v. Harris Assocs., which the Court decided yesterday (post here), that the cases struck us "as leading indicators of how far the Court will go this Term in cutting back civil claims."

Civil plaintiffs won both cases.  Dare we hope?