Opinion ID: 448953
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: certification of class action

Text: 71 On cross-appeal the government contends that the district court erred in certifying this class action and in failing to decertify the class prior to judgment. The government argues that the commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 23 were not met. 10 72 Questions concerning class certification are left to the sound discretion of the district court. Assuming the district court's determination is made within the parameters of Rule 23, its decision on class certification will be upheld absent an abuse of discretion. Freeman v. Motor Convoy, Inc., 700 F.2d 1339, 1347 (11th Cir.1983). This class was originally certified by the district court on January 9, 1973. The class consists of all past, present, and future black employees of the Jacksonville Post Office. 11 In response to a defense motion to dismiss the class claims in 1982, the district court gave a detailed opinion dated September 8, 1982, explaining its reasons for allowing the class to proceed as certified in 1973. We hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing this suit to proceed as a class action. 73 The commonality and typicality requirements of Rule 23(a) tend to merge. General Telephone Co. of Southwest v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 157 n. 13, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 2371 n. 13, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982). In this case, both requirements turn on a two-step inquiry. First, we must determine whether the 22 named plaintiffs raise claims within the periphery of the claims raised by Griffin's administrative complaint and hence are proper named plaintiffs. Next, if the first inquiry is answered in the affirmative, we must determine whether the claims raised by these 22 plaintiffs satisfy the commonality and typicality requirements. 74 As discussed above, this suit began with the filing of a third-party complaint by Ernest Griffin under the then-existing Civil Service Commission procedures. The investigation of the third-party complaint considered both issues of discrimination against Griffin personally and issues of discrimination against other named plaintiffs and class members. The investigative report indicated that while Griffin was on the supervisory register, he was not within the zone of consideration and therefore was not eligible for promotion. In addition, the investigation included subsequent allegations by Griffin that he had received a suspension and that he had been threatened with termination. Thus, Griffin was directly affected by the discrimination alleged in his third-party complaint. In addition, an affidavit prepared by Griffin at the request of the Postal Service investigator identified 13 specific areas of discrimination against blacks in the Jacksonville Postal Service. 12 75 The only issues that may be raised in a class action claim are those issues that were raised by representative parties in their administrative complaints, together with those issues that may reasonably be expected to grow out of the administrative investigation of their claims. Eastland v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 553 F.2d 364, 372 (5th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 985, 98 S.Ct. 611, 54 L.Ed.2d 479 (1977). It is not necessary that members of the class bring an administrative charge as a prerequisite to joining as co-plaintiffs in the litigation. It is sufficient if they are in a class and assert the same or some of the same issues. As co-plaintiffs, however, they must proceed within the periphery of the issues which Griffin could assert. Oatis v. Crown Zellerbach Corp., 398 F.2d 496, 499 (5th Cir.1968); see Jackson v. Seaboard Coast Line R. Co., 678 F.2d 992, 1005 (11th Cir.1982). In this case, we find that the issues asserted by co-plaintiffs are within the periphery of the issues asserted by Griffin in his administrative complaint and fully investigated by the Postal Service. Thus, the 22 named plaintiffs are appropriately named as co-plaintiffs. 76 We turn, therefore, to the question of whether the claims of these plaintiffs satisfy the commonality and typicality requirements of Rule 23(a). The Supreme Court has recently reaffirmed that litigants seeking to maintain class actions under Title VII must meet the requirements of Rule 23. Falcon, 457 U.S. at 156, 102 S.Ct. at 2370 (1982). The class claims must be limited to those fairly encompassed by the named plaintiffs' claims. Id. at 158, 102 S.Ct. at 2371. In this case, information in the record by the time the district court issued its final pre-trial order approving class certification reflected that the 22 named plaintiffs had claims relating to tests and other procedures used to get on the supervisory registers; promotion from the supervisory registers; promotions to other high level positions; discipline; training, particularly for higher level positions; awards; and details. 77 The district court's opinion of September 8, 1982, gave careful consideration to the requirements of Falcon. The court found that the 22 named plaintiffs had alleged sufficiently diverse employment practices that the court might infer that discriminatory treatment was typical of defendant's promotion practices and that defendant's promotion practices were motivated by a pervasive policy of racial discrimination. The court found that these allegations were sufficient to bridge the gap between the named plaintiffs' individual claims and those made on behalf of a class of all black employees. The district court did not abuse its discretion in making this determination. 78 The Postal Service also contends that plaintiffs failed to meet the Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a) requirement that they fairly and adequately represent the interests of the class. The Postal Service asserts several alleged errors and lack of preparedness by plaintiffs' counsel. The adequate representation requirement involves questions of whether plaintiffs' counsel are qualified, experienced, and generally able to conduct the proposed litigation, and of whether plaintiffs have interests antagonistic to those of the rest of the class. Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc., 417 F.2d 1122, 1125 (5th Cir.1969). The district court did not abuse its discretion in determining that plaintiffs satisfied the adequate representation requirement.