Task: songer_jurisdiction

What follows is an opinion from a United States Court of Appeals. You will be asked a question pertaining to some threshold issue at the trial court level. These issues are only considered to be present if the court of appeals is reviewing whether or not the litigants should properly have been allowed to get a trial court decision on the merits. That is, the issue is whether or not the issue crossed properly the threshhold to get on the district court agenda. The issue is: "Did the court determine that it had jurisdiction to hear this case?" Answer the question based on the directionality of the appeals court decision. If the court discussed the issue in its opinion and answered the related question in the affirmative, answer "Yes". If the issue was discussed and the opinion answered the question negatively, answer "No". If the opinion considered the question but gave a mixed answer, supporting the respondent in part and supporting the appellant in part, answer "Mixed answer". If the opinion does not discuss the issue, or notes that a particular issue was raised by one of the litigants but the court dismissed the issue as frivolous or trivial or not worthy of discussion for some other reason, answer "Issue not discussed". If the opinion considered the question but gave a "mixed" answer, supporting the respondent in part and supporting the appellant in part (or if two issues treated separately by the court both fell within the area covered by one question and the court answered one question affirmatively and one negatively), answer "Mixed answer". If the opinion either did not consider or discuss the issue at all or if the opinion indicates that this issue was not worthy of consideration by the court of appeals even though it was discussed by the lower court or was raised in one of the briefs, answer "Issue not discussed".If the opinion discusses challenges to the jurisdiction of the court to hear several different issues and the court ruled that it had jurisdiction to hear some of the issues but did not have jurisdiction to hear other issues, answer "Mixed answer". 

PER CURIAM:
Plaintiffs Samuel Jelfo, Josephine Taylor and Edison C. Schulz, former officers of the now inactive Rochester Independent Union, appeal from an order of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, Harold P. Burke, J., denying class certification in plaintiffs’ action against Hickok Manufacturing Company, Inc. The complaint alleged that the Company had breached its contractual obligations to plaintiffs and others similarly situated by reducing or terminating pension and disability benefits. Plaintiffs brought their action in October 1973, approximately a year after the Company had ceased operations in Rochester while continuing them at its principal place of business in Texas.
In November 1974, plaintiffs moved for class action designation, claiming, among other things, that the proposed class of approximately 280 persons was too numerous and geographically dispersed to make joinder practical, that there were questions of law and fact regarding entitlement to benefits common to the class, and that plaintiffs would fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. Defendant opposed the motion, claiming that there were actually various subclasses: retired employees, already receiving pension benefits, whose pensions had been reduced; two groups of former employees who had not yet begun to receive benefits, those with 25 or more years of service and those with 15-25 years of service; and employees receiving disability benefits, which had been reduced or cancelled. Defendant argued that no adequate showing of the need for class action treatment had been made as to each subclass, that because there was a limited fund for distribution under the pension plan there were conflicts among the subclasses and even within them, and that the named plaintiffs had not shown that they could fairly and adequately represent the subclasses. Plaintiffs denied these contentions and argued that since the Company is liable for the payments, there was no limit on the funds available and no need for subclasses. Judge Burke apparently accepted defendant’s view and denied the class certification sought.
On appeal, plaintiffs claim that the judge erred in several respects. However, the first issue for us is whether the judge’s order is appealable. Under our “death knell” doctrine, the order would be appealable only if we conclude that the suit would end if class action status were denied. See, e. g., Shayne v. Madison Square Garden Corp., 491 F.2d 397 (2d Cir. 1974); Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 370 F.2d 119 (2d Cir. 1966), cert. denied, 386 U.S. 1035, 87 S.Ct. 1487, 18 L.Ed.2d 598 (1967). Unfortunately, there is not enough information in the record for us to apply the rule of those cases intelligently. Two plaintiffs have apparently had payments reduced, but the record does not reflect the precise amount of the reduction or either’s life expectancy. Similar information is also lacking as to the third plaintiff, who apparently would not be entitled to receive payments until years from now, in any event. Cf. Lugo v. Employees Retirement Fund of the Illumination Prods. Indus., 529 F.2d 251 (2d Cir. 1976). Appellee’s counsel offered some of this information at oral argument to support his argument that the death knell doctrine does not apply because plaintiffs have enough incentive to pursue the action individually. However, we are not sure that plaintiffs agree with these figures, particularly the estimate of present worth of each claim. Moreover, the record should be made properly in the district court, not offered orally as a result of a chance question from the bench at argument. The burden to show appealability rests upon plaintiffs, who ask us to assume jurisdiction.
Accordingly, we remand to the district court to allow the record to be expanded. We note that whether plaintiffs’ or defendant’s view of the nature of defendant’s obligation is accepted, this action would seem to call for some sort of class designation.
Case remanded. No costs.

Question: Did the court determine that it had jurisdiction to hear this case?
A. No
B. Yes
C. Mixed answer
D. Issue not discussed
Answer:

Answer: D