Opinion ID: 1754456
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: adequacy of named representatives:

Text: The adequacy of counsel and the named representatives is likewise met. The respective plaintiffs and counsel have exhaustively and vigorously pursued this complex case, have retained experts on water quality from Auburn University, University of Alabama, and [Georgia Institute of Technology], have repeatedly responded to voluminous depositions and other discovery and are represented by willing and able counsel. All of the named plaintiffs (with the exception of William R. Bailey, who died during the pendency of this case) now reside or have an ownership interest in property in the affected area, and have no interests antagonistic to the Class as a whole and have adequately demonstrated their commitment to the case and their ability to represent the Class and its interests. The record demonstrates that the plaintiffs will fairly and adequately represent this Class and that their interests are not antagonistic to the claims of the Class members. The Court having found that all the requirements of a Class have been met, the plaintiffs are hereby ordered to publish notice to the Class in a form and of content as approved by the Court. The notice shall state that every Class Member shall have forty-five (45) days from publication to opt out of the Class. Within ten (10) days from the expiration of the forty-five (45) day period, the plaintiffs shall file with the Court a paper identifying each person opting out of the Class. Within ten (10) days of service of plaintiffs' list of persons opting out, any party may submit written argument on whether the Class should be decertified because of the results of the Notice and Opt-out procedure. Case is continued from the August 5, 1996, trial setting. DONE AND ORDERED this 31st day of July, 1996. In August 1996, Russell and Avondale moved the trial court to stay all further proceedings, including review, approval, and issuance of class notice, until it ruled on the motion to transfer that they had filed in June 1996. The trial court held a hearing on those motions in August. In September 1996, the plaintiffs submitted responses to the defendants' motion for a stay, and they also filed for the trial court's approval a proposed class notice form. The notice form defined the class as All persons who as of March 15, 1991, and thereafter ... were or are owners of real property (excluding mortgagees and excluding lessees with no contractual right to purchase) located within the Raintree Subdivision of Lake Martin. In October 1996, the defendants filed with the trial court a response opposing the proposed class notice. The trial court denied the motion to transfer, denied the motion to stay, and approved the proposed class notice form. On October 30, 1996, the defendants filed the mandamus petition now before this Court. We ordered an answer and briefs, stayed proceedings in the underlying case, and granted the defendants' motion for oral argument. The parties have submitted briefs and numerous volumes of exhibits from the trial court record, and they have made oral arguments.