the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class, thereby making appropriate final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief with respect to the class as a whole .
It would be somewhat incongruous if a class of plaintiffs must have “acted or refused to act” on grounds generally applicable to a class of defendants in order to validate the defendant class, for that would place the power of creating a defendant class into the hands of a possibly obstinate and unreasonable plaintiff. 3B J. Moore, Federal Practice ¶ 23.40 at p. 103 (Supp.1977-78). But where, according to the allegations and proof, a class of plaintiffs is forced, if they wish to be employed as operating engineers, to act with respect to the defendant class of employers in one and only one way, the requirements of 23(b)(2) are met.
It must be remembered that rule 23(b)(2) or any part of rule 23 is not by its terms applicable only to a plaintiff class certification. Indeed, the language in 23(b)(2), “the party opposing the class,” on its face clearly indicates that the section was deliberately cast to include defendant class action suits. Numerous cases have upheld 23(b)(2) defendant class certifications in a variety of contexts. E. g., Redhail v. Zablocki, 418 F.Supp. 1061, 1066 (E.D.Wisc.1976) (three judge court), aff’d on other grounds, 434 U.S. 374, 98 S.Ct. 673, 54 L.Ed.2d 618 (1978); Thompson v. Board of Education of Romeo Community Schools, 71 F.R.D. 398, 402 (W.D.Mich.1976); Bradford Trust Co. v. Wright, 70 F.R.D. 323 (E.D.N.Y.1976); Paxman v. Wilkerson, 390 F.Supp. 442, 447-48 (E.D.Va.1975); Gibbs v. Titelman, 369 F.Supp. 38, 52-53 (E.D.Pa.1973), rev’d on other grounds, 502 F.2d 1107 (3d Cir.), cert, denied, 419 U.S. 1039, 95 S.Ct. 526, 42 L.Ed.2d 316 (1974). Washington v. Lee, 263 F.Supp. 327, 330 (M.D.Ala.1966), aff’d, 390 U.S. 333, 88 S.Ct. 994, 19 L.Ed.2d 1212 (1968); see Note, Defendant Class Actions, 91 Harv.L.Rev. 630, 633 (1978). There are, however, cases which hold or suggest otherwise. Mudd v. Busse, 68 F.R.D. 522, 529 (N.D.Ind.1975), appeal dismissed, 437 F.Supp. 505 (1977); cf. United States v. T. I. M. E.-DC, Inc., 335 F.Supp. 246 (N.D.Tex. 1971) (holding, alternatively, that where various union locals were sought to be joined as defendant class, court lacked in personam jurisdiction over them so long as alteration of contract was envisioned).
While among the cases permitting a (b)(2) defendant class certification Redhail and Gibbs were suits seeking to enjoin a class of state officials from enforcing a generally applicable state statute alleged to be unconstitutional, Thompson and Paxman were wider ranging suits seeking to enjoin, respectively, school boards and school board members for policies alleged to discriminate on the basis of sex. Thompson upheld a 23(b)(2) defendant class consisting of “all school boards in the state of Michigan which . . . have treated or now treat pregnancy related disability differently than other temporary disabilities . . .” Id. at 402. Similarly, Paxman upheld a class of school board members whose districts applied discriminatory maternity leave policies, even though maternity policies could vary in their precise terms from district to district. Paxman and Thompson suggest a very practicable solution: if that which makes a practice illegal is common to the defendants, there can be no cognizable objection to the concept of a (b)(2) defendant class certification. Where, of course, issues are not identical or closely parallel, there would be a serious argument against binding an absent defendant under res judicata principles to the result of a litigation in which he did not participate and of which he was not entitled to notice. Such a circumstance, not presented here, might cause some reluctance to apply what appear to be the plain terms of 23(b)(2), perhaps on the theory that congressional intent could not be found to support the result. But where the litigable issues are identical or nearly so, the efficacy of proceeding by a defendant class action logically outweighs the arguments favoring multiple individual suits and fits tightly with the overall scheme of 23(b)(2). Where such identity occurs there is no greater reason to deny classwide res judicata application against defendants than against plaintiffs.