FIRST REJECTION, THEN DISMISSAL: RECONSIDERING AMERICAN PIPE TOLLING FOR SECURITIES CLASS ACTIONS

In American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah, the Supreme Court created a class action tolling rule, which halted the running of a statute of limitations for all asserted class members of an antitrust suit during the court's certification of the class. Although the Court focused its analysis on the policy behind Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, courts purporting to apply the tolling rule have since extended their analyses to such issues as whether the tolling rule is equitable or legal in nature and whether the tolling rule also applies to statutes of repose. Most recently, the Second Circuit held in Police & Fire Retirement System of Detroit v. IndyMac MBS, Inc. that the statute of repose of 13 of the Securities Act cannot be tolled. This Note examines the Supreme Court's reasoning in American Pipe and the distinct policies behind statutes of repose, arguing that the policies motivating 13's statute of repose are not disserved if the American Pipe tolling rule is extended to circumstances factually similar to those faced by the plaintiffs in IndyMac. Rather, tolling under this limited circumstance is supported by the reasoning in American Pipe, the policies behind Rule 23, and the private-securities-litigation framework more generally.