In the Gulf Oil Co. v. Bernard case of 1980, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a district court had overstepped its authority by issuing an order limiting communication between parties in a class action lawsuit without demonstrating that such restrictions were necessary to ensure fair proceedings. The plaintiffs, representing current and former employees of Gulf Oil Company, alleged racial discrimination in employment practices. During pretrial proceedings, the defendants requested and received an order restricting both sides from communicating with potential class members about the ongoing litigation unless authorized by court or agreed upon by counsel for both parties. On appeal to the Supreme Court, it was held that this broad restriction violated First Amendment rights as there was no evidence presented showing actual harm caused by communications between parties involved in litigation.

In the dissenting opinion for Gulf Oil Co. et al. v. Bernard et al., Justice Powell, joined by Chief Justice Burger and Justice Rehnquist, argued that the majority's decision to reverse and remand was unnecessary as it did not consider the district court’s discretion in managing class actions under Rule 23 of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. They believed that there were no abuses of discretion or errors made by lower courts which would warrant a reversal or remand order from Supreme Court. The dissenters also pointed out that plaintiffs had ample opportunity to communicate with potential class members before certification process began, thus they disagreed with majority's view on violation of First Amendment rights due to restrictions imposed on communication between parties during litigation process.