Opinion ID: 2639670
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Schoenleber

Text: The district court also relied on Schoenleber, 423 F.Supp.2d 1109, as a basis for issue preclusion of appellants' claims. The Schoenleber court granted Harrah's summary judgment based on issue preclusion. Id. at 1113-14. Appellants argue that, like in the other cases, the Schoenleber plaintiffs did not adequately represent appellants' interests, and the district court erred in barring appellants' claims based on issue preclusion. Harrah's argues that appellants' interests were especially aligned with the Schoenleber plaintiffs because the same attorney represented appellants and the Schoenleber plaintiffs. Harrah's also argues that the district court took special care to protect appellants' interests because discovery was consolidated in the appellants' and Schoenleber cases, appellants' attorney was involved in the discovery process, and the two cases were essentially treated as a class action. We conclude that Harrah's arguments lack merit because representation by the same attorney and the court's alleged treatment of the case as a class action are insufficient to establish adequate representation. The Schoenleber court, like the Alcantar court, applied the virtual representation analysis under Irwin, 370 F.3d 924, and determined that Yvette Barreras virtually represented the Schoenleber plaintiffs because both were guests at Harrah's who suffered damage because of the brawl, and they shared a common interest in arguing that Harrah's had a duty to protect its guest and that the brawl was reasonably foreseeable. Schoenleber, 423 F.Supp.2d at 1113. Although this may have been an adequate basis for applying nonparty issue preclusion under Irwin, we conclude that it is insufficient to demonstrate the adequate representation exception as clarified in Taylor. Although the same attorney represented the appellants and the Schoenleber plaintiffs, the record is void of any indication that the Schoenleber plaintiffs knew they were acting as representatives for appellants. In fact, they likely believed the contrary if they knew their attorney was representing appellants but pursuing appellants' claims in a separate state case. Representation by the same attorney does not establish that the Schoenleber plaintiffs were representing appellants' interests, that the court protected appellants' interests, or that appellants had notice of the Schoenleber case. Taylor, 553 U.S. at ___, 128 S.Ct. at 2176. Therefore, representation by the same attorney is insufficient to establish adequate representation. Similarly, although discovery was consolidated in the two cases, this is insufficient to prove that the district court was protecting appellants' interests. In fact, in analyzing whether the adequate representation exception applies, the United States Supreme Court has specifically rejected the common law kind of class action concept, holding that class actions are an exception to the general rule against nonparty preclusion because of the due process protections afforded by FRCP 23. Taylor, 553 U.S. at ___, 128 S.Ct. at 2176. For a class action to be certified, FRCP 23(a) requires that: (1) the class is so large that joinder is impracticable, (2) there be common questions of law or fact among the class members, (3) the claims and defenses of the representatives must be typical of the class, and (4) the representative parties must be able to fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. It also provides protections for class members throughout the litigation. FRCP 23. The Supreme Court concluded that a class action not certified under FRCP 23 would not provide the necessary due process protections and would be an expansive application of nonparty preclusion. Taylor, 553 U.S. at ___, 128 S.Ct. at 2176. Because appellants' case was not part of a certified class action with the Schoenleber plaintiffs, the Schoenleber plaintiffs did not adequately represent appellants' interests, and the Schoenleber case does not provide an adequate basis for issue preclusion to bar appellants' claims.