The plaintiff in a suit for racial discrimination had been the member of a class that had been conditionally certified in Missouri. The Missouri court subsequently dismissed the action, which dismissal was ultimately affirmed by the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeal. The plaintiff alleged that the statute had been tolled under American Pipe until the dismissal order was affirmed by the court of appeal. The U.S. Fifth Circuit noted an important distinction between the members of a certified class and the putative members of a putative class. ?The district court?s refusal to certify the class is tantamount to a declaration that only the named plaintiffs are parties to the suit. Thus, the putative class members had no reason to assume that their rights were being protected. When a class is certified, however, the district court has necessarily determined that all of the Rule 23 factors are met. From that point forward, unless the district court later decertifies the class for failure to satisfy the Rule 23 factors, members of the certified class may continue to rely on the class representative to protect their interests throughout the entire prosecution of the suit, including appeal.?Taylor v. UPS, 554 F.3d 510 (5th Cir. 2008).