Source: https://clw.girardgibbs.com/tag/comcast-v-behrend/
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 00:33:14+00:00

Document:
Judge Dean D. Pregerson certified the class under Rule 23(b)(3) in a suit alleging an undisclosed defect in certain Nissan vehicles. The court certified California consumer protection and implied warranty claims, a Washington consumer protection claim, and a claim for common law fraud. The case is Falco v. Nissan N. Am. Inc., 2016 WL 1327474 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 5, 2016).
The Court finds this case raises similar common questions of fact and law to the common questions alleged in another consumer automobile defect class certification case, Chamberlan v. Ford Motor Co., 402 F.3d 952, 962 (9th Cir. 2005). … In these consumer defect cases, commonality can be found in the very legal and factual question of the defect. See, e.g., id.; see also Wolin v. Jaguar Land Rover N. Am. LLC, 617 F.3d 1168, 1172 (9th Cir. 2010); Doyle v. Chrysler Grp. LLC, No. SACV 13-00620, 2014 WL 7690155, at *6-7 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 9, 2014); Parkinson v. Hyundai Motor Am., 258 F.R.D. 580, 595-96 (C.D. Cal. 2008).
the class would be getting the benefit of their bargain because they would be put in the same position they would have been had the car not been sold with the defective timing chain system — it is the cost necessary to make the vehicles conform to the value Plaintiffs thought they were getting in the price tendered.
Does Tyson Foods Case Redefine Predominance?
The majority begins by redefining the predominance standard. According to the majority, if some “‘central issues’” present common questions, “ ‘the action may be considered proper under Rule 23(b)(3) even though other important matters will have to be tried separately, such as damages or some affirmative defenses peculiar to some individual class members.’ ” Ante, at 9 (quoting, 7AA C. Wright, A. Miller, & M. Kane, Federal Practice & Procedure §1778, pp. 123–124 (3d ed. 2005; footnotes omitted)). We recently—and correctly—held the opposite. In Comcast, we deemed the lack of a common methodology for proving damages fatal to predominance because “[q]uestions of individual damage calculations will inevitably overwhelm questions common to the class.” 569 U. S., at ___ (slip op., at 7).
Yesterday, we wrote about the ruling in Moore v. Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, in which Central District of California Judge Fernando M. Olguin concluded (correctly) that “the [Comcast] Court did not hold that damages must be shown through classwide evidence for common liability issues to predominate.” (emphasis added). Judge Olguin’s conclusion jives with several post-Comcast rulings by the Ninth Circuit.
Today, we note that another court in the same district reached the opposite conclusion, stating that “to certify a class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3)” plaintiffs must show that “damages are capable of measurement on a classwide basis.” In re NJOY, Inc. Consumer Class Action Litig., 2016 WL 787415 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 2, 2016). The continuing divergent results on this issue will likely require the Ninth Circuit to take up the issue yet again.
In previous posts, we’ve noted that some district courts have continued to grapple with Comcast v. Behrend, even though the Ninth Circuit has repeatedly clarified that Rule 23(b)(3) does not require classwide proof of damage. Given the inconsistent district court holdings, it is not surprising that defendants sometimes avoid mentioning the Ninth Circuit’s holdings. But in a recent opinion, Judge Fernando M. Olguin dealt with the failure harshly, writing that defense counsel had “misstate[d] the standard set forth in Comcast.” See Moore v. Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, 311 F.R.D. 590 (C.D. Cal. 2015).
defendant misstates the standard set forth in Comcast. … The [Comcast] Court did not hold that damages must be shown through classwide evidence for common liability issues to predominate.… Here, if the class prevails on its liability claims … only then will the court determine how many hours of pay each plaintiff is entitled to, how many meal and/or rest breaks each plaintiff was denied, and the resulting penalties that defendant must pay.
Three years after Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 133 S. Ct. 1426 (2013), lower courts continue to certify classes for liability purposes only, thereby reserving consideration of damages for individual determination during subsequent phases of litigation. These courts reason that Comcast’s predominance and superiority concerns are “largely irrelevant” to this approach, which is permitted by Rule 23(c)(4). E.g., In re Deepwater Horizon, 739 F.3d 790, 817 (5th Cir. 2014); Butler v. Sears, Roebuck and Co., 727 F.3d 796, 800 (7th Cir. 2013).
A recent order granting class certification in Peterson v. Costco Wholesale Co., Inc., 2016 WL 304299 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 26, 2016), exemplifies the trend. Following a Hepatitis A outbreak in the western United States “linked to the consumption of Townsend berry mix sold to consumers at various Costco locations in early 2013,” id. at *1, individuals from nine different states filed a class action in California state court, seeking damages in part on strict liability theories. The case was then removed to federal district court, where it was assigned to Judge David O. Carter.

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