Supreme Court to hear Comcast class-action case

{mosads}In 2010, a federal judge granted the customers class-action status, allowing them to file a single suit. But Comcast argued that the customers didn’t have enough in common to qualify for the status.

The Supreme Court on Monday said it will examine whether a district court can grant class-action status without hearing evidence to justify awarding damages to the class as a whole.

Last August, a federal appeals court sided with the plaintiffs and said the district judge has the discretion to decide whether the plaintiffs will be able to establish a claim for damages. 

Reuters, which first noted that the court had agreed to hear the case, writes that in its 2010-2011 term, the Supreme Court narrowed the ability of plaintiffs to bring class-action suits in separate cases involving AT&T and Wal-Mart.

The customers first sued Comcast in 2003.