Opinion ID: 2582501
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The October 14, 1998 superior court order certifying the class and entering partial summary judgment

Text: The state filed a motion for partial summary judgment, arguing that all parties, except the Andrade family, should be dismissed from the action because the other parties either waived their interests or failed to exhaust their administrative remedies. As such, the state argued that Andrade's request for class certification should be denied. The state also argued that only prospective relief should be available. Andrade later filed a motion to certify the class and a cross-motion for partial summary judgment on the failure to exhaust and prospective relief issues. Superior Court Judge Michael L. Wolverton issued an order that certified the class and entered partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. Judge Wolverton found that the class met each of the requirements of Civil Rule 23(a), and certified the matter as a class action under Civil Rule 23(b)(1)(B) and (b)(2). The class was certified to consist of all persons lawfully residing in Alaska, who are or in the past have been otherwise qualified to receive a PFD, but who were denied or otherwise ineligible to receive a PFD because of their (or in the case of minors, their sponsor's) alienage. The class as certified did not include any illegal aliens. Judge Wolverton also entered partial summary judgment: (1) dismissing the state's claim that the class failed to exhaust administrative remedies, stating that [t]he court finds that the plaintiffs were facially ineligible for PFDs and that pursuing the application process could not have changed that outcome; and (2) dismissing the State's request for purely prospective relief. The superior court denied the state's motion for reconsideration. We denied the state's petition for review without comment.