SCOTUS Declines to Decide Fate of Classes with Uninjured Members: 8-1 Decision in LabCorp Leaves Unresolved Whether Rule 23 Allows Certification for a Class Containing Members Who Lack Standing

The United States Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision on June 5, 2025, dismissed the highly anticipated case of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Davis as “improvidently granted.” Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, dba Labcorp, v. Luke Davis, et al., No. 22-55873. The decision, or lack thereof, sidesteps a critical question for class action litigation: whether a damages class can be certified under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 when it includes individuals who have not suffered any actual injury.

LabCorp was challenging a Ninth Circuit decision that allowed the certification of a massive class of visually impaired individuals under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. Cal. Civ. Code. § 51. The suit alleged LabCorp’s check-in kiosks were inaccessible, triggering sta