I received a couple of emails from readers in response to my summary of Tuesday's oral argument in the Pioneer Electronics case. Here's what one reader, who also attended the argument, had to say:
I read your report of the argument with great interest and some amazement that you could recount so accurately everything that was said. .... I'm not sure, though, that I agree with your crystal-gazing on what the outcome will be. It seemed clear to me from the remarks made at argument that Justice Kennard was with the plaintiffs and that Justices Chin and Baxter were with the defendants. I'm also guessing that Justice Corrigan was with the defendants, too, because she placed such emphasis on the desirability of giving the putative class members as much control as possible about whether they would be contacted or not. If I'm right, it would just take one more vote to turn the balance to the defense side, and I'm guessing that that vote would be most likely to come from the chief justice. Now all we have to do is wait 90 days.
It's interesting that two people who sat through the same argument could reach such differing conclusions. I thought Justice Corrigan's and Justice Chin's comments were the most plaintiff-favorable of all. We'll see what happens. Thank you, readers, for sharing your thoughts.
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