Opinion ID: 1125262
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: The Defendant's Other Arguments

Text: The defendants claim the trial court abused its discretion in certifying the action as a class action because, they say, the plaintiffs failed to prove facts necessary to find liability. However, at this stage of the proceedings, the kind and level of proof are distinctly different from those required at a trial on the merits. A plaintiff seeking to represent a class need not prove its entire case in order to satisfy the requirements of Rule 23, Ala. R. Civ. P. Ex parte Government Employees Ins. Co., 729 So.2d at 303; Ex parte Amsouth Bancorporation, 717 So.2d 357, 366 (Ala. 1998). The defendants also claim that the trial court abused its discretion in denying Cheminova America's motion for a continuance of the class-action hearing. We review a trial court's denial of a motion for a continuance by asking whether the denial was a palpable abuse of the court's discretion. Copeland v. Samford Univ., 686 So.2d 190 (Ala.1996). The defendants have not shown that the trial court abused its discretion. Finally, the defendants claim that the plaintiffs' claims are preempted by Alabama's Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Ala.Code 1975, §§ 8-19-1 to -15, specifically § 8-19-10(f). They cite Ex parte Exxon Corp., supra, 725 So.2d 930. Ex parte Exxon decertified a class action, because of the preemption provision of § 8-19-10(f). 725 So.2d at 933-34. The plaintiffs in Ex parte Exxon sought relief specifically based on New Jersey consumerprotection laws and sought to apply, on a nationwide basis, the New Jersey statutory remedy to the defendants' course of conduct. Because Alabama law prevents consumers from representing a class seeking relief for a defendant's alleged deceptive trade practices, § 8-19-10(f), Ala.Code 1975, this Court held that the class representatives in that case could not maintain the action as a class action. The defendants argue that this Court's decision in Ex parte Exxon supports their claim that the plaintiffs here are preempted from filing a class action. We disagree. The legislative intent behind Alabama's Deceptive Trade Practices Act was to require a strong and effective consumer protection program to protect the interest of both the consuming public and the legitimate businessperson. § 8-19-2. Section 8-19-15 is a saving clause; it provides that the Act is cumulative and that a plaintiff can elect whether to sue for the remedies provided under the Act or to sue for remedies allowed by the common law. § 8-19-15(b). While § 8-19-10(f) makes no provision for a class action under the Act, the Act specifically states that consumers are not prohibited from seeking redress under the common law or under other statutes for conduct that could be redressed under the Act. See § 8-19-15. The defendants misconstrue the nature of the certification order. As we have noted above, the trial court specifically declined to certify the fraud-based claims. We see no preemption in this case.