What is the legal test for approval of a motion to certify a class action?

Moreover, the approval process runs the risk of becoming a rubberstamp. Motions to certify a settlement class are generally unopposed, as is this one. The court hears argument only in favor of certification. See Kakani v. Oracle Corp., No. 06-06493, 2007 WL 1793774, at *1 (N.D. Cal. June 19, 2007) ("Once the named parties reach a settlement in a purported class action, they are always solidly in favor of their own proposal. There is no advocate to critique the proposal on behalf of absent class members."). The court is often left to the plaintiff's argument and its own devices. The problem is greater at this preliminary approval stage, where objectors are unlikely to have already appeared.