U.S. Supreme Court Further Limits Tolling in the Class Action Context in China Agritech v. Resh
The Supreme Court Holds that American Pipe Tolling Does Not Apply to Subsequent Class Actions; Clarifies that Five-Year Period for Section 10(b) Claims Is a Statute of Repose
On June 11, 2018, the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in , holding that the American Pipe equitable tolling rule鈥斅瓀hich tolls the statute of limitations for individual claims while a class action is pending鈥攄oes not apply to subsequently filed class action claims. The Court also clarified that the five-year limit on bringing claims under the Exchange Act is a statute of repose. Accordingly, under the Court鈥檚 prior decision in CalPERS v. ANZ Securities, Inc., the Exchange Act鈥檚 five-year statute of repose is not tolled by the filing of a class action lawsuit.
The China Agritech decision follows a trend set by other recent Supreme Court decisions limiting the application of equitable doctrines to expand or contract a legislatively enacted statute of limitations.