11.   The employees are hoping to have their case certified as a class action.

12.   The ruling applies to two men, but could help many more if the case is certified as a class action.

13.   The San Francisco-based telephone company said a U.S. District judge refused to certify the case as a class action on behalf of the employees.

14.   The U.S. solicitor general and the Justice Department have made the request, and Jackson has certified the case for fast-track appeal.

15.   We are filing today a request that Judge Jackson certify the case for immediate review by the Supreme Court under the Expediting Act.

16.   Lawyers for the drug companies already had asked the judge not to certify the case as a class action, but he had not ruled on the motion.

17.   Weiner certified the case as a nationwide class-action lawsuit and ruled OPEC had violated U.S. antitrust laws by controlling production to fix oil prices.