Opinion ID: 469369
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Heading Rank: 5

Heading: THE 23(b)(3) CERTIFICATION

Text: 80 The advisory committee notes to (b)(3) state that a mass accident causing injuries to numerous persons is generally not appropriate for class action treatment because significant questions, not only of damages but of liability and defenses of liability, would be present, affecting the individuals in different ways. If such an action were conducted as a class action, it would degenerate in practice into multiple lawsuits separately tried. 81 Although that statement continues to be repeated in case law, there is growing acceptance of the notion that some mass accident situations may be good candidates for class action treatment. An airplane crash, for instance, would present the same liability questions for each passenger, although the damages would depend on individual circumstances. Determination of the liability issues in one suit may represent a substantial savings in time and resources. Even if the action thereafter degenerates into a series of individual damage suits, the result nevertheless works an improvement over the situation in which the same separate suits require adjudication on liability using the same evidence over and over again. See Hernandez v. Motor Vessel Skyward, 61 F.R.D. 558 (S.D.Fla.1973). 82 Reassessment of the utility of the class action in the mass tort area has come about, no doubt, because courts have realized that such an action need not resolve all issues in the litigation. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(c)(4)(A). If economies can be achieved by use of the class device, then its application must be given serious and sympathetic consideration. 83 Concentration of individual damage suits in one forum can lead to formidable problems, but the realities of litigation should not be overlooked in theoretical musings. Most tort cases settle, and the preliminary maneuverings in litigation today are designed as much, if not more, for settlement purposes than for trial. Settlements of class actions often result in savings for all concerned. 84 Part of the reluctance to apply the class action to mass torts is rooted in the notion that individual plaintiffs have the right to select their own counsel and forum, particularly in personal injury actions. See Dalkon Shield IUD Products Liability Litigation, 693 F.2d 847 (9th Cir.1982); Yandle v. PPG Indus., Inc., 65 F.R.D. 566 (E.D.Tex.1974). That factor has little, if any, relevance in this case because the claims are limited to property damage, and school districts are unlikely to have strong emotional ties to the litigation. See In re Three Mile Island Litigation, 87 F.R.D. 433 (M.D.Pa.1980) (certifying class action as to economic claims but not for personal injuries). Furthermore, the school districts have the right to opt out, and some have stated their intention to do so. 85 In short, the trend has been for courts to be more receptive to use of the class action in mass tort litigation. See Wright & Colussi, The Successful Use of the Class Action Device in the Management of the Skywalk Tort Litigation, 52 U.M.K.C.L.Rev. 141 (1984); Williams, Mass Tort Class Actions: Going, Going, Gone? 98 F.R.D. 323; Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, Sec. 1783; Note, Class Certification in Mass Accident Cases Under Rule 23(b)(1), 96 Harv.L.Rev. 114 (1983). 86 In reviewing the district court's (b)(3) certification, we must decide whether the criteria of Rule 23(a) are met. The requirements of numerosity, typicality, and adequacy of representation were found to be satisfied in this case, and we affirm those determinations on the basis of the district court's analysis. The only serious challenge raised to the 23(a) ruling is the argument that no questions of law or fact common to the class exist. See Rule 23(a)(2). Addressing that contention, we examine the district court's identification of the common issues involved in the plaintiffs' claims. Bogosian v. Gulf Oil Co., 561 F.2d 434 (3d Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1086, 98 S.Ct. 1280, 55 L.Ed.2d 791 (1978). If the district court applied the correct legal standard, its class action determination is subject to review for abuse of discretion. 561 F.2d at 448; Katz v. Carte Blanche Corp., 496 F.2d 747, 756-57 (3d Cir.1974) (in banc). 87 Noting that the complaints allege claims for damages based on negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty, intentional tort, concert of action and civil conspiracy, the district court explained that all these claims arise out of the same common nucleus of operative facts relating to defendants' conduct and the nature of asbestos products. 104 F.R.D. at 432. 88 The district judge identified common factual issues as the health hazards of asbestos, the defendants' knowledge of those dangers, the failure to warn or test, and the defendants' concert of action or conspiracy in the formation of and adherence to industry practices. The court also believed that the proof of these matters would not vary widely from one class member to another. While harboring some reservations as to the breadth of the district court's analysis, we agree with its determination that Rule 23(a)(2) is satisfied. 89 Plaintiffs aver that low-level exposure to asbestos constitutes an excessive risk of harm, and that the presence of ambient fibers requires expensive remedial action to comply with federal legislation and regulations. Plaintiffs contend that the presence of any airborne asbestos fibers in a school presents an unacceptable hazard. Whether that is true or whether only a higher concentration creates a danger is an issue common to all members of the plaintiff class. Ascertaining the danger point is critical to the determination of whether class members have sustained a legal injury and also is pertinent in establishing the existence of a defective product. 90 The plaintiffs' contention that defendants knew of the dangers of asbestos and failed to warn is also common to the members of the class. The opponents assert that the defendants' knowledge cannot be proved on a common basis because medical understanding of the effects of asbestos exposure has changed markedly over the years. The focus, however, must be on whether the fact to be proved is common to the members of the class, not whether it is common to all the defendants. See Blackie v. Barrack, 524 F.2d 891 (9th Cir.1975). 91 Similarly, proof of concert of action or conspiracy by the defendants (or some of them) involves common questions. 92 We find ourselves in substantial agreement with the reasoning of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit which, in upholding a (b)(3) class action of 893 asbestos personal injury claims, noted that the threshold of commonality is not high. Jenkins v. Raymark Indus. Inc., 782 F.2d 468 (5th Cir.1986). 93 Once the mandates of Rule 23(a) are satisfied, certification may be upheld when common issues predominate over individual ones and the class method of adjudication is superior to existing alternatives. There may be cases in which class resolution of one issue or a small group of them will so advance the litigation that they may fairly be said to predominate. Resolution of common issues need not guarantee a conclusive finding on liability, Eisenberg v. Gagnon, 766 F.2d 770 (3d Cir.1985), nor is it a disqualification that damages must be assessed on an individual basis. See Bogosian, 561 F.2d at 456. 94 Experience shows that in the asbestos litigation arena redundant evidence is the rule rather than the exception. In case after case, the health issues, the question of injury causation, and the knowledge of the defendants are explored, often by the same witnesses. Efforts to achieve expeditious disposition of the cases by invocation of stare decisis and collateral estoppel have been largely unsuccessful. See Hardy v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp., 681 F.2d 334 (5th Cir.1982); Migues v. Fibreboard Corp., 662 F.2d 1182 (5th Cir.1982). 95 The use of the class action device appears to offer some hope of reducing the expenditure of time and money needed to resolve the common issues which are of substantial importance. As the Jenkins court commented, It is difficult to imagine that class jury findings on the class questions will not significantly advance the resolution of the underlying hundreds of cases. 782 F.2d at 472-73. 96 In some ways, Jenkins presented more difficult problems because of the complexity of the causation questions in personal injury suits; that phase of a property damage claim is more straightforward. However, the Jenkins class action is confined to claims arising under the law of a single state. Here the court is confronted with the substantive law of many states. 97 To meet the problem of diversity in applicable state law, class plaintiffs have undertaken an extensive analysis of the variances in products liability among the jurisdictions. That review separates the law into four categories. Even assuming additional permutations and combinations, plaintiffs have made a creditable showing, which apparently satisfied the district court, that class certification does not present insuperable obstacles. Although we have some doubt on this score, the effort may nonetheless prove successful. 11 98 We have cited only a few illustrations and have not attempted to compile a complete listing of the practical problems in this case. Some of these difficulties have already been alluded to in the order of the multi-district panel refusing to consolidate pretrial activity in some twenty school district cases. See In re Asbestos School Products Liability Litigation, 606 F.Supp. 713 (J.P.M.L.1985). 99 As we see it, at the present stage, manageability is a serious concern. In a sense, a whole industry is on trial, presenting a likelihood that defendants occupying various positions in the distribution chain could bear differing degrees of responsibility for the alleged injury to the class. For example, two of the common questions are the defendants' knowledge of the dangers of asbestos and the existence of an industry-wide conspiracy to suppress that knowledge. Although the plaintiffs' proof on those points would not differ from class member to class member, certain defendants may respond on an individual basis as to their lack of culpability. The potential for individualized defenses does not detract from the commonality of the questions as viewed from the standpoint of the class members, but the problem clearly poses significant case management concerns. 100 Manageability is a practical problem, one with which a district court generally has a greater degree of expertise and familiarity than does an appellate court. Link v. Mercedes-Benz, Inc., 550 F.2d at 864. Hence, a district court must necessarily enjoy wide discretion, and we are not inclined to reverse a certification before the district judge has had an opportunity to put the matter to a test. We point out the critical fact that certification is conditional. When, and if, the district court is convinced that the litigation cannot be managed, decertification is proper. See Payton v. Abbott Labs, 100 F.R.D. 336 (D.Mass.1983). 101 As the case goes forward, the district court may well find other important common issues, perhaps even more critical for resolution than those sorted out at this early stage. We are unwilling to foreclose that possibility. Nor do we limit the option of the district court to decertify if the issues it has classified as substantial later appear insufficient to justify the class procedure. 102 We acknowledge that our reluctance to vacate the (b)(3) certification is influenced by the highly unusual nature of asbestos litigation. The district court has demonstrated a willingness to attempt to cope with an unprecedented situation in a somewhat novel fashion, and we do not wish to foreclose an approach that might offer some possibility of improvement over the methods employed to date. 103 Accordingly, the order certifying a (b)(3) class will be affirmed as will the order denying a (b)(2) certification. The order granting a (b)(1)(B) class will be vacated.