Pending class-action lawsuits around the country have been put on freeze since the Supreme Court decided to review the mammoth gender discrimination lawsuit filed by employees of Wal-Mart. The Supreme Court is not likely to rule in the Wal-Mart case for months at the very least, but the case is being seen as a test of the effectiveness of class actions, and therefore, several class actions that have been pending will now be put on hold as California class action lawyers and plaintiffs wait for the Supreme Court decision.

Among some of the cases that have been put hold on hold is a gender discrimination case against Costco. The Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals has decided that the Costco class-action should be held pending until the Supreme Court rules in the matter of Wal-Mart. Further, plaintiffs in another unrelated sex and racial discrimination lawsuit against Best Buy Co. have asked a federal judge in California to suspend briefing under the Wal-Mart judgment. Best Buy is opposing that request.

Earlier this year, the Ninth Circuit court upheld class-action status for a massive gender discrimination case against Wal-Mart. The Supreme Court is now reviewing that decision. If the Supreme Court decides to uphold class action certification for the Wal-Mart case, the company will likely to move towards a settlement because of the cost of defending such a massive class-action.  Defense lawyers who are facing not just employment-related class actions, but all kinds of class-action lawsuits, will likely wait for any a ruling by the Supreme Court in the Wal-Mart case.

The Wal-Mart case is the mother of all class-action lawsuits because of the sheer size of the company. Wal-Mart is the largest employer in the country with more than 1 million employees, and any successful class-action could result in back pay to the tune of billions of dollars. Any outcome of this class-action will therefore be awaited by class-action attorneys around the country.