The Diamond Manufacturers & Importers Association of America announced yesterday that it had filed an amicus brief Aug. 27 on behalf of its membership in the case Sullivan v. DB Investments Inc., also known as the De Beers settlement case.
The substance of the brief, which was accepted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, was a request that the full court rehear and reconsider its July 13 opinion setting aside a $295 million settlement of a class-action suit against De Beers, which alleged that the company fixed diamond prices. The court said at the time that the settlement must be vacated because a lower court had erred in certifying a class.
But in an opinion filed Aug. 27, the court agreed to rehear the case and also ordered that “the opinion and judgment filed July 13, 2010, is hereby vacated.”
The rehearing will take place en banc, meaning before the full court of 15 judges. The July 13 opinion was rendered by three judges.
For analysis of latest events in this case, see the Cutting Remarks blog.
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