Opinion ID: 1869498
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Choice-of Law and Analysis on the Merits

Text: Newberg specifically endorses choice-of-law considerations at the certification stage, but, at the same time, states that it is not permissible to go to the merits of the case upon deciding a motion for class certification. Newberg on Class Actions § 4.26 (3d ed.1992). Thus, it is clear that Newberg does not equate a choice-of-law analysis with an impermissible examination of the merits of the plaintiff's claims. The majority cites Carquest of Hot Springs, Inc. v. General Parts, Inc., 367 Ark. 218, 238 S.W.3d 916 (2006), for the proposition that requiring the circuit court to conclude at class certification which law should apply potentially strays into the merits of the action itself. In Carquest , the defendant/counterclaimant alleged that General Parts had engaged in an illegal tying arrangement and violated the Arkansas Franchise Practices Act. Id. at 220, 238 S.W.3d at 917-18. The circuit court found that it did not have jurisdiction over Carquest's illegal-tying claim because that claim was based on the federal Sherman Anti-Trust Act, and in so finding, the court failed to consider whether the same claim could fall within the purview of the Arkansas Unfair Practices Act (AUPA). We held that discarding Carquest's AUPA claim amounted to a ruling that the state claim could not prevail, and that ruling constituted an impermissible consideration of the merits of Carquest's state claim. Id. at 224, 238 S.W.3d at 920. This holding does not support the majority's statement equating a choice-of-law analysis with an examination of the merits of the case. Therefore, I believe the majority's contention that Carquest precludes choice-of-law considerations at the class-certification stage is flawed.