Richard Korn, Bart Sullivan and Ryan Mohr successfully petitioned the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago for a reversal of a district court’s class certification order entered in an environmental class action case involving the alleged contamination of a community in Southwestern Illinois. In the case, the putative plaintiffs claim millions of dollars in damages as a result of the alleged depreciation in the values of their homes as a result of alleged environmental contamination from a refinery which Fox Smith’s client owned and operated from 1917 to 2000. They also claim the purported contamination has interfered with their ability to use and enjoy their property. After the district court granted class certification without the benefit of an evidentiary hearing, Fox Smith immediately filed a Petition for Leave to Appeal with the Seventh Circuit arguing that the district court failed to engage in the “rigorous analysis” required by the 2011 United States Supreme Court case of Wal-Mart v. Dukes and its progeny. The appellate court not only agreed with the Fox Smith lawyers but reversed the district court’s order based on the Petition and briefing relating to the Petition alone. After this ruling, Fox Smith then successfully opposed plaintiffs’ attempt to have the appellate court reconsider its decision. This case may have implications in environmental class action cases pending around the country.