Opinion ID: 2353606
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Class-Wide Theory of Injury

Text: In Hall v. Walter , this Court made explicit the requirement that a plaintiff bringing a private CCPA claim must establish that he or she suffered injury in fact to a legally protected interest. 969 P.2d at 234. Plaintiffs allege that the fact of injury can be established on a class-wide basis. Quite simply, Plaintiffs explain, all Class I members paid for dealer-added products that were never installed, while Class II members paid for inadequately disclosed dealer-added products. The trial court agreed that damages would be easily calculable and thus not central to the litigation. Normally, the need for some proof of individual damages does not preclude certification under C.R.C.P. 23(b)(3). Buckley Powder Co. v. State, 70 P.3d 547, 554 (Colo. App.2002). We have thus deferred to a trial court's decision to certify a class action despite the presence of individual damages issues. See Jackson, 262 P.3d at 890. In the instant case, however, the trial court erred by simply accepting Plaintiffs' allegation that injury could be established on a class-wide basis with Medved's deceptive sales documents and Plaintiffs' purchase of dealer-added products. As the court of appeals explained, determining whether a Plaintiff was injured may require an inquiry into each face-to-face transaction and vehicle purchase. Garcia, 240 P.3d at 381. For example, certain Class I Plaintiffs may not have suffered an injury due to Medved's deceptive sales documents if they paid a price lower than the MSRP less the value of the dealer-added, but omitted products. Id. Similarly, certain Class II Plaintiffs may not have suffered an injury if the particular price paid for a given automobile was so far below the MSRP that there was no effective charge for manufacturer-installed options, let alone dealer-added products. Id. Accordingly, the court of appeals concluded that the price paid by each customer is an important and predominant component of injury. Id. The court of appeals thus remanded the case to the trial court to consider the evidence of individual face-to-face transactions in determining whether Plaintiffs had established a class-wide theory of injury. Id. We agree with the court of appeals for the reason that the trial court failed to analyze the individual evidence submitted by Medved and consider whether that evidence rebutted Plaintiffs' class-wide theory of injury. Medved presented evidence that the price of a vehicle was often discussed during the face-to-face transactions between a consumer and a Medved sales representative. Medved also presented individual evidence demonstrating that dealer-added products were installed on numerous vehicles despite the lack of Purchase or Repair Orders. This evidence suggests that the fact finder will have to analyze each transaction and the price paid to determine whether a particular customer suffered an injury. The trial court, however, did not consider this evidence, instead simply stating that damages will be easily calculable and not central to the litigation. This truncated analysis falls short of the trial court's duty to rigorously analyze all of the evidence presented to determine whether Plaintiffs have satisfied the requirements for class certification. See BP America, slip op. at 27. We thus agree with the court of appeals that a remand is necessary for the trial court to consider the evidence regarding each sales transaction in assessing Plaintiffs' class-wide theory of injury. Plaintiffs argue, however, that there is no need to analyze each individual transaction. Plaintiffs claim that they necessarily suffered an injury by virtue of the fact that they paid for inadequately disclosed dealer-added products. That is, assuming Medved committed a uniform deceptive practice and Plaintiffs relied on that deception in purchasing dealeradded products, then the Plaintiffs invariably suffered an injury. Plaintiffs argue that this injury is particularly apparent with respect to Class I where customers paid for dealeradded products that were never installed. Medved, however, presented individual evidence and testimony rebutting these allegations. The trial court must therefore consider this evidence in assessing Plaintiffs' class-wide theory of injury. So long as the trial court rigorously analyzes this evidence, it retains the discretion to determine, to its satisfaction, whether common issues predominate over individual issues with respect to Plaintiffs' CCPA claims. See Jackson, 262 P.3d at 884.