Opinion ID: 1909099
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Wallace Action

Text: The Birmingham Water Works Board contends that the named plaintiff in the Wallace Action failed to present sufficient evidence to support a finding of the class-certification criteria provided in Rule 23, Ala. R. Civ. P. Thus, the Birmingham Water Works Board asserts, class certification is improper because the trial court's order does not contain a sufficiently rigorous analysis of the Rule 23 criteria with respect to the specific facts of that case. We agree. In support of his motion for class certification, Wallace offered his own half-page affidavit, certain pages of his deposition, and representations of his counsel. Although the St. Clair Circuit Court held hearings, it did not allow the Birmingham Water Works Board to present a significant portion of its factual evidence. The insufficiency of the evidence is fatal to the requisite analysis of the Rule 23 criteria that a trial court must conduct before certifying a class action. See Citicorp, 715 So.2d at 204 (requiring that a trial court conduct a rigorous analysis of the certification criteria). In this case, the insufficiency of the evidence is reflected in the conclusory analysis of the Rule 23(a) typicality and adequacy criteria contained in the trial court's certification order. The order merely recites the requirement of these criteria and summarily concludes that both of these prerequisites are met. [1] Thus, the St. Clair Circuit Court abused its discretion in certifying the class in the Wallace Action. See Ex parte American Bankers Life Assurance Co., 715 So.2d 186 (Ala.1997) (holding that the trial court improperly certified a class because it had not conducted a rigorous analysis of the elements of commonality and typicality).