The order issued by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on August 27, 2010, states that a re-hearing has been permitted on the settlement of the De Beers class action law suit, before the entire (en banc) Third Circuit panel “at the convenience of the court”. The en banc panel has to decide whether ‘the lower court correctly analysed if it was appropriate to certify the suit as a class action’. %% Some members of the class challenged the certification of the class and the settlement agreement at the Third Circuit based on a claim (among others) of a lack of common harm to all of the members of the class. A smaller three judge panel of the Third Circuit decided to send the case back to the District Court for re-consideration, but now the full court will re-consider the grounds for the appeal. %% The re-hearing will allow all parties to the litigation another chance to argue that the certification of the class is flawless, while appellants (those challenging the settlement) will have the chance to argue the class is incorrectly composed, making the settlement agreement reached by the parties unsupportable. %% During the period of time that the case will be again argued at the Third Circuit, and until the full court issues its opinion, no claims filed by any class members will be paid. Even once the opinion is issued, there could be further delays pending ultimate resolution of all of the legal issues attached to the case. There is no time table for this opinion of the full panel to be issued, and once issued; the decision of the full panel can be appealed to the Supreme Court. %% JVC will post the order granting a re-hearing on its website – www.jvclegal.org.