U.S. Class Actions Go Global: Transnational Class Actions and Personal Jurisdiction

In Phillips Petroleum Co v Shutts the United States Supreme Court held that plaintiff class members residing outside the forum state are entitled to the minimal due process protections of notice an opportunity to be heard an opportunity to opt out and adequate representation However class actions involving class members not just from other states but from other countries raise distinctive due process concerns in each of these areas In this Article Professor Bassett examines the considerations impacting on due process and personal jurisdiction when nonUS claimants participate in class litigation and proposes guidelines necessary to ensure that the class judgment will have a binding effect on foreign claimants