Certification Granted In DaimlerChrysler Suit

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. The class certification appeal provision in the Class Action Fairness Act of 2003 (see below) might have played a role in the case by Chrysler Corp.’s former shareholders against DaimlerChrysler AG. The investors allege that Daimler-Benz AG misrepresented the acquisition of Chrysler as a “merger of equals” to avoid paying Chrysler shareholders a takeover premium for their shares. Bloomberg reports that District Judge Farnan of the D. of Del. has certified a class, over the defendants’ objections, that includes both U.S. shareholders who exchanged their shares in the transaction and U.S. shareholders who purchased or acquired DaimlerChyrsler shares after the merger through November 2000 (when the fraud was allegedly revealed).