Opinion ID: 2192523
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: In Mrs. Williams's words, the purpose of this process was:

Text: [T]o show that there is no class of people out there, that each customer and all of his transactions are individual between buyer and seller. I have also wanted to properly document my files. From this summary of the circumstances surrounding Williams Ford's communications with potential class members, it is clear that the president, secretary, and other representatives of Williams Ford attempted to contact all potential class members prior to class certification. During these direct oral communications with potential class members, Williams Ford's representatives not only attempted to discourage participation in the lawsuit, but also discussed the merits of the case when they attempted to confirm that every customer consented to Williams Ford's retention of the insurance refunds. Furthermore, the potential class members have an ongoing business relationship with Williams Ford. This type of situation is particularly conducive to coercion and undue influence. The fact that all of the potential class members owe Williams Ford money and may depend upon Williams Ford for the financing of future equipment purchases renders them particularly vulnerable to coercion. Moreover, the high number of releases obtained from one hundred percent of the customers contacted by Williams Ford is persuasive evidence that coercion was inherent in the direct personal communications with potential class members. Furthermore, excerpts from the deposition testimony of three potential class members suggest the likelihood of confusing and misleading communications during the course of Williams Ford's efforts to obtain releases from all potential class members. According to Mr. Donald F. Blount, Williams Ford required all customers to sign the release documents as a prerequisite for financing or refinancing. Mr. Blount recanted this testimony after he was re-deposed. Similarly, Mr. Dan A. Gross was reluctant during his deposition to testify against his friend Don Williams, but he did testify clearly that someone at Williams Ford told him that the lawsuit was about whether Williams Ford had offered insurance. He had always been offered insurance, so he signed the release. Mr. Ricky Lee Miller testified that he signed the release after Williams Ford assured him that anything owed to him would be made right. Several months later and just before Mr. Miller's deposition, Williams Ford credited his account with some, but not all, of his unearned premium refunds. Based upon all of these circumstances, we conclude that the pre-certification communications by Williams Ford with potential class members were improper and presented a likelihood of serious abuses. Accordingly, we hold that the trial court's consideration of such communications, including the releases that resulted therefrom, was an abuse of discretion. We stress that our decision is not meant to chill settlement negotiations in any way, and that resolution of litigation prior to trial remains desirable. However, attempts by class opponents to discourage participation in class actions under circumstances that indicate a likelihood of coercion, or a serious potential for harm to the interests of the class action, violate the principles of Rule 23. This proposition is supported by NEWBERG ON CLASS ACTIONS: Though the law has long favored settlements, releases from liability or exclusions from a class action obtained by the defendant through misrepresentation or the coercive threat of economic sanctions will not receive judicial approval when challenged. NEWBERG ON CLASS ACTIONS, supra, at § 15.19 at 15-54. Rule 23(c) also provides a mechanism for class members to make informed decisions about exclusion. Under that provision, a class-certification notice that contains accurate information is sent to each potential class member, who can then make an informed and independent decision to opt out of the class or not. In light of our holding that the trial court should not have considered the releases that were improperly obtained by Williams Ford at the certification stage of this case, we must now determine whether the numerosity requirement has been satisfied. The trial court indicated at the certification hearing that whether or not it was appropriate to consider the releases at the certification stage could well be decisive in this particular case. We agree. According to Mrs. Williams, there are at least 188 potential class members. [4] Furthermore, according to the evidence submitted by the Fraleys at the hearing on their motion for reconsideration, at least 429 persons were identified as potential class members. Where the numerosity question is a close one, the balance should be struck in favor of a finding of numerosity in light of the trial court's option to later decertify. Evans v. U.S. Pipe & Foundry Co., 696 F.2d 925 (11th Cir.1983); Foster v. Bechtel Power Corp., 89 F.R.D. 624 (E.D.Ark.1981). For these reasons, we conclude that there was sufficient evidence to satisfy the Rule 23(a) numerosity requirement. We, therefore, hold that there was an abuse of discretion by the trial court when it held otherwise.