Opinion ID: 1760838
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Familiarity with Basic Facts of the Lawsuit

Text: Advance America next asserts that McGinnis is an inadequate representative because she is not familiar with the basic facts of the lawsuit. Advance America points to McGinnis's deposition testimony where she was unaware of what kind of damages she was seeking and, specifically, whether she was seeking punitive damages or damages for emotional distress. Advance America also points to McGinnis's deposition testimony where she could not remember when she first started doing business with Servicing or how many agreements she entered into with the company. In addition, Advance America states that McGinnis does not know that she sued two companies with which she never transacted business and that she believes that she sued individuals, despite the fact that she sued only companies. Advance America states that McGinnis does not know whether she seeks statewide or nationwide class certification or the time period at issue in the lawsuit. Further, Advance America states that McGinnis does not know whether Advance America's conduct violated a prior court-approved settlement or the DTPA, as alleged in the complaint. In sum, Advance America contends that McGinnis is detached from her role as class representative and this compels the reversal of the circuit court's order certifying the class. McGinnis's deposition testimony demonstrates that she understood the basic process used in her transactions with Advance America and that she believed Advance America's practices were unlawful. For example, McGinnis testified regarding one of the transactions, in which she wrote a check to Advance America for $228.07 and was given cash in the amount of $200. She further testified that Advance America told her when the check would be presented for payment to her bank, and at that time, she could either repurchase the check for $228.07 or allow it to be presented to the bank. McGinnis testified that she believed $28.07 of the amount paid to Advance America was interest, and that the basis of the lawsuit was that Advance America had charged a usurious rate of interest in violation of the Arkansas Constitution. In F & G Financial Services, Inc. v. Barnes, 349 Ark. 420, 82 S.W.3d 162 (2002), a payday lender challenged the adequacy of a plaintiff to represent the class, arguing that the plaintiff demonstrated a lack of knowledge about the terms of a settlement and was not aware of various facts about the case. We rejected this challenge, stating: Despite Spencer's lack of understanding of some legal terms involved in the case, Spencer clearly showed a minimal level of interest in this action in that she contacted her attorneys concerning the action. F & G, 349 Ark. at 429, 82 S.W.3d at 167. We concluded that the representative satisfied the minimal interest set by the third requirement derived from Rule 23(a)(4). Id. at 429; 82 S.W.3d at 167. The payday lender in F & G also objected to another representative, contending that she lacked the capacity to fairly and adequately represent the proposed class because she did not know who the defendant was in her own case and because she did not know who she next intended to sue. Id. at 429; 82 S.W.3d at 167-68. We again rejected the payday lender's challenge, and stated: Barnes testified that she understands that she is suing appellants and that her goal is to represent all the people who have done business with appellants, and to stop the usury on these loans. Again, Barnes meets the minimal bar set by the third requirement of Rule 23(a)(4). Id. at 429; 82 S.W.3d at 168. Here, the circuit court found that McGinnis understood the basic process used in Advance America's transactions, understood the class's usury claim, and was generally familiar with Advance America's payday loan practices. These findings are not clearly erroneous. Despite her confusion over some of the facts of the case, McGinnis has demonstrated that she has shown a minimal level of interest in the litigation and a familiarity with the practices challenged.