Opinion ID: 2676050
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Prerequisites of Class Certification

Text: Having determined that the petitioners have standing to bring causes of action for breach of confidentiality and invasion of privacy, we now turn our attention to the circuit court’s determination that the petitioners failed to show the requirements for bringing a class action. In addressing this issue, we first note that “[t]he party who seeks to establish the propriety of a class action has the burden of proving that the prerequisites of Rule 23 of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure have been satisfied.” Syl. pt. 6, Jefferson Cty. Bd. of Educ. v. Educ. Ass’n, 183 W. Va. 15, 393 S.E.2d 653 (1990). We are also mindful that [n]othing in either the language or history of Rule 23 of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure [1998] gives a court any authority to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the merits of a suit in order to determine whether it may be maintained as a class action. Syl. pt. 6, In re W. Va. Rezulin Litigation, 214 W. Va. 52, 585 S.E.2d 52 (2003).5 Finally, Before certifying a class under Rule 23 of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure [1998], a circuit court must determine that the party seeking class certification has satisfied all four prerequisites contained in Rule 23(a)6 – 5 During oral argument before this Court, counsel for CAMC and CAMC Health Foundation argued that the petitioners are not able to show that their private information was publicized for the purpose of an invasion of privacy claim because discovery revealed that no unauthorized users have accessed the website on which the private information appeared. While such evidence certainly is relevant to the merits of the petitioner’s claims, it is not pertinent to the issue of class certification. 6 Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a) provides: 8 numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation – and has satisfied one of the three subdivisions of Rule 23(b).7 As long as these prerequisites to One or more members of a class may sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf of all only if (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class, (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class, and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. 7 According to Rule 23(b): An action may be maintained as a class action if the prerequisites of subdivision (a) are satisfied, and in addition: (1) The prosecution of separate actions by or against individual members of the class would create a risk of (A) Inconsistent or varying adjudications with respect to individual members of the class which would establish incompatible standards of conduct for the party opposing the class, or (B) Adjudications with respect to individual members of the class which would as a practical matter be dispositive of the interests of the other members not parties to the adjudications or substantially impair or impede their ability to protect their interests; or (2) The party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class, thereby making appropriate final injunctive relieve [sic] or corresponding declaratory relief with respect to the class as a whole; or (3) The court finds that the questions of law or fact common to the members of the class predominate over any questions affecting only individual members, and that a class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy. The matters pertinent to the findings include: (A) the interest of members of the class in individually controlling the prosecution or defense of separate actions; (B) the extent and nature of any litigation concerning the controversy already commenced by or against members of the class; (C) the desirability or undesirability of 9 class certification are met, a case should be allowed to proceed on behalf of the class proposed by the party. Syl. pt. 8, Id. (footnote added). In the instant case, the circuit court found that the petitioners failed to show that they have satisfied the requirements of Rule 23 for the certification of their proposed class. Specifically, the circuit court found that the petitioners failed to meet the requirements of commonality and typicality in Rule 23(a) and the requirement of predominance of common issues of law or fact under Rule 23(b). This Court will now proceed to address each of these prerequisites.
First, the circuit court found that the petitioners have failed to show commonality among the claims of the petitioners and the proposed class members. In syllabus point 11 of Rezulin, 214 W. Va. 52, 585 S.E.2d 52, this Court held: The “commonality” requirement of Rule 23(a)(2) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure [1998] requires that the party seeking class certification show that “there are questions of law or fact common to the class.” A common nucleus of operative fact or law is usually enough to satisfy the commonality requirement. The threshold of “commonality” is not high, and requires only that the resolution of common questions affect all or a substantial number of the class members. We further explained in Rezulin that [c]ommonality requires that class members share a single common issue. However, not every issue in the case concentrating the litigation of the claims in the particular forum; (D) the difficulties likely to be encountered in the management of a class action. 10 must be common to all class members. The common questions need be neither important nor controlling, and one significant common question of law or fact will satisfy this requirement. In other words, the class as a whole must raise at least one common question of law or fact to make adjudication of the issues as a class action appropriate to conserve judicial and private resources. 214 W. Va. at 67, 585 S.E.2d at 67 (quotations, brackets, and citations omitted). This Court finds that in the instant case the claims of the petitioners and the proposed class members arise from the same set of facts and are governed by the same law. Further, there are common questions such as whether the respondents’ conduct breached the duty of confidentiality that a doctor owes a patient and whether the conduct invaded the privacy of the petitioners and the proposed class members. Having found the existence of a common nucleus of operative fact and law and common issues, we believe that the circuit court abused its discretion in determining that the petitioners failed to meet the commonality requirement for class certification.
The circuit court also found that the lack of typicality prevents class certification. In syllabus point 12 of Rezulin, this Court held: The “typicality” requirement of Rule 23(a)(3) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure [1998] requires that the “claims or defenses of the representative parties [be] typical of the claims or defenses of the class.” A representative party’s claim or defense is typical if it arises from the same event or practice or course of conduct that gives rise to the claims of other class members, and if his or her claims are based on the same legal theory. Rule 23(a)(3) only requires that the class representatives’ claims be typical 11 of the other class members’ claims, not that the same be identical. When the claim arises out of the same legal or remedial theory, the presence of factual variations is normally not sufficient to preclude class action treatment. 214 W. Va. 52, 585 S.E.2d 52. As a practical matter, this case fits the definition of typicality between the petitioners and proposed class members. The petitioners’ claims arise from the same event that gives rise to the claims of the proposed class members which is the disclosure by the respondents of petitioners’ personal and medical information on the Internet. Also, the claims of the petitioners and proposed class members are based on the same legal theories: breach of confidentiality and invasion of privacy. Therefore, this Court concludes that the circuit court erred in finding that the petitioners failed to meet the typicality requirement for class certification under Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)(2).
Last, the circuit court found that individual issues regarding damages, causation, and adequate remedies will predominate over common issues of law or fact at trial so that Rule 23(b)(3) is not met. Regarding the issue of predominance of issues, this Court has explained: The predominance criterion in Rule 23(b)(3) is a corollary to the “commonality” requirement found in Rule 23(a)(2). While the “commonality” requirement simply requires a showing of common questions, the “predominance” requirement requires a showing that the common questions of law or fact outweigh individual questions. 12 A conclusion on the issue of predominance requires an evaluation of the legal issues and the proof needed to establish them. As a matter of efficient judicial administration, the goal is to save time and money for the parties and the public and to promote consistent decisions for people with similar claims. The predominance requirement is not a rigid test, but rather contemplates a review of many factors, the central question being whether adjudication of the common issues in the particular suit has important and desirable advantages of judicial economy compared to all other issues, or when viewed by themselves. Rezulin, 214 W. Va. at 71-72, 585 S.E.2d at 71-72 (quotations and citations omitted). When this Court applies these guidelines to the instant facts, it is clear that common issues of law predominate over individual questions. Simply put, all of the proposed class members are in the same position. Their causes of action are the same and they arise from the same event. Also, there is no evidence of unauthorized access of their personal and medical information, no evidence of actual identity theft, and no evidence of economic injury arising from the alleged wrongdoing. Rather, all of the proposed class members allege that their interests in confidentiality and privacy have been wrongfully invaded by the respondents. Therefore, this Court finds that common questions of law and fact predominate over individual issues for the purpose of class certification under Rule 23(b)(3). In sum, we underscore that the scope of this opinion is narrow. We hold only that the circuit court erred in finding that the petitioners lack standing and that the circuit court abused its discretion in ruling that the petitioners failed to meet the requirements for class certification of commonality, typicality, and the predominance of 13 common issues of law or fact. This Court makes absolutely no determination regarding the merits or the lack thereof of the petitioners’ causes of action for breach of confidentiality and invasion of privacy such as whether the petitioners have adduced evidence sufficient to prove the elements of these causes of action.