Judge Alsup’s Class Settlement ‘Gag Rule’ May Be Invincible

The Ninth Circuit expressed concern recently about a lower court judge’s standing rule barring precertification settlement negotiations in class actions. But it decided the concerns didn’t warrant the drastic remedy of mandamus.

That means consumers will push ahead with litigation alleging Logitech Inc.'s Z200 computer speaker system is less powerful than advertised. The deadline for their class certification motion is now Sept. 26.

But if mandamus wasn’t the proper way for them to challenge U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Judge William Alsup’s general prohibition on early settlement negotiations, what is?

The answer isn’t entirely clear, civil...