Opinion ID: 685134
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the legal requisites for class certification

Text: 17 To obtain class action certification, plaintiffs must establish that all four requisites of Rule 23(a) and at least one part of Rule 23(b) are met. Wetzel v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., 508 F.2d 239 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 1011, 95 S.Ct. 2415, 44 L.Ed.2d 679 (1975). Rule 23(a) provides that 18 [o]ne or more members of a class may sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf of all only if (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class, (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class, and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. 19 FED.R.CIV.P. 23(a). 20 The requirements of Rule 23(a) are meant to assure both that class action treatment is necessary and efficient and that it is fair to the absentees under the particular circumstances. While numerosity addresses the first of these concerns, i.e., necessity, the last three requirements help determine whether the class action can be maintained in a fair and efficient manner. Class treatment makes no sense if there are no common issues; the trial court would gain nothing but logistical headaches from the combination of the cases for trial. Typicality asks whether the named plaintiffs' claims are typical, in common-sense terms, of the class, thus suggesting that the incentives of the plaintiffs are aligned with those of the class. Adequacy of representation assures that the named plaintiffs' claims are not antagonistic to the class and that the attorneys for the class representatives are experienced and qualified to prosecute the claims on behalf of the entire class. 21 In addition to satisfying the requirements of Rule 23(a), a putative class must also comply with one of the parts of subsection (b). In this case, plaintiffs seek certification pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2) which requires that the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class, thereby making appropriate final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief with respect to the class as a whole. FED.R.CIV.P. 23(b). 22 For the reasons explained below, we conclude that the plaintiffs satisfied all of the requirements of Rule 23, and that the district court abused its discretion in denying class certification on the grounds that plaintiffs failed to comply with subsections (a)(2) (commonality), (a)(3) (typicality), and (b)(2) (appropriateness of class relief) of Rule 23. 15 There is, as we have noted, no dispute over numerosity ((a)(1)) or adequacy of representation ((a)(4)). 23 The concepts of commonality and typicality are broadly defined and tend to merge. See 7A CHARLES A. WRIGHT, ET AL., FEDERAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Sec. 1764, at 247 (1986). Both criteria seek to assure that the action can be practically and efficiently maintained and that the interests of the absentees will be fairly and adequately represented. See General Tel. Co. of Southwest v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 157 n. 13, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 2370 n. 13, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982). Despite their similarity, however, commonality and typicality are distinct requirements under Rule 23. See Hassine v. Jeffes, 846 F.2d 169, 177 n. 4 (3d Cir.1988) ( '[C]ommonality' like 'numerosity' evaluates the sufficiency of the class itself, and 'typicality' like 'adequacy of representation' evaluates the sufficiency of the named plaintiff....); Weiss v. York Hosp., 745 F.2d 786, 810 (3d Cir.1984), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1060, 105 S.Ct. 1777, 84 L.Ed.2d 836 (1985). 24 We turn to a more particularized discussion of these requisites. We underscore at the outset, however, that neither of these requirements mandates that all putative class members share identical claims, see Hassine, 846 F.2d at 176-77; Weiss, 745 F.2d at 809; WRIGHT, ET AL., Sec. 1763, at 198, and that factual differences among the claims of the putative class members do not defeat certification. See Eisenberg v. Gagnon, 766 F.2d 770 (3d Cir.1985) (certifying securities fraud class action despite differences in injuries); Troutman v. Cohen, 661 F.Supp. 802, 811 (E.D.Pa.1987) (certifying subclass of 1,973 nursing home patients challenging reductions in their level of nursing care designations over typicality and commonality objections because it is not the unique facts of the individual appeals which give rise to this action but rather the decision making process).
25 The commonality requirement will be satisfied if the named plaintiffs share at least one question of fact or law with the grievances of the prospective class. In re Agent Orange Prod. Liab. Lit., 818 F.2d 145, 166-67 (2d Cir.1987); Weiss, 745 F.2d at 808-09. Because the requirement may be satisfied by a single common issue, it is easily met, as at least one treatise has noted. See H. NEWBERG & A. CONTE, 1 NEWBERG ON CLASS ACTIONS Sec. 3.10, at 3-50 (1992). Furthermore, class members can assert such a single common complaint even if they have not all suffered actual injury; demonstrating that all class members are subject to the same harm will suffice. Hassine, 846 F.2d at 177-78; cf. Riley v. Jeffes, 777 F.2d 143, 147 (3d Cir.1985) (finding constitutional violation in prisoners' being subject to constant threat of violence and sexual assault and rejecting contention that plaintiff must actually be assaulted before obtaining relief). 26 Challenges to a program's compliance with the mandates of its enabling legislation, even where plaintiff-beneficiaries are differently impacted by the violations, have satisfied the commonality requirement. See 3B JAMES W. MOORE & JOHN E. KENNEDY, MOORE'S FEDERAL PRACTICE p 23.06-1, at 23-162 (1993) (citing cases). Courts appear to consider common such challenges based on alleged violations of statutory standards. See Liberty Alliance of the Blind v. Califano, 568 F.2d 333 (3d Cir.1977) (certifying class of blind recipients challenging regulations for calculation of Supplemental Security Income benefits); Appleyard v. Wallace, 754 F.2d 955 (11th Cir.1985) (certifying class challenging regulations pertaining to receipt of Medicaid benefits despite factual differences among claims). Moreover, because they do not also involve an individualized inquiry for the determination of damage awards, injunctive actions by their very nature often present common questions satisfying Rule 23(a)(2). 7A WRIGHT ET AL., Sec. 1763, at 201. 27 To the extent that the defendants assert that commonality requirements cannot be met in this case because of the individualized circumstances of the children, their argument has been squarely rejected by the Supreme Court. In Califano v. Yamasaki, 442 U.S. 682, 99 S.Ct. 2545, 61 L.Ed.2d 176 (1979), plaintiffs challenged the adequacy of the procedures used to recoup overpayments under the Social Security Act. Rejecting an argument that the applicable statute only invited suits by individuals, the court explained that class relief is consistent with the need for case-by-case adjudication, especially where [i]t is unlikely that differences in the factual background of each claim will affect the outcome of the legal issue. Id. at 701, 99 S.Ct. at 2557. This is especially true where plaintiffs request declaratory and injunctive relief against a defendant engaging in a common course of conduct toward them, and there is therefore no need for individualized determinations of the propriety of injunctive relief. See 7A WRIGHT ET AL., Sec. 1763 at 203. Indeed, (b)(2) classes have been certified in a legion of civil rights cases where commonality findings were based primarily on the fact that defendant's conduct is central to the claims of all class members irrespective of their individual circumstances and the disparate effects of the conduct. Id. at 219. 28 In Hassine v. Jeffes, 846 F.2d 169 (3d Cir.1988), plaintiffs claimed that the conditions at the Graterford prison violated their constitutional rights. Reversing the district court's denial of certification on commonality grounds, this court explained that Rule 23 did not require all plaintiffs actually to suffer the same injury; rather, the fact that the plaintiffs were subject to the injury, that they faced the immediate threat of these injuries, sufficed for Rule 23. In particular, the Hassine panel explained that the named plaintiffs could attack the inadequate mental health care provided at the prison despite the fact that none of them were in current need of those services; it was enough that they challenged the inadequacy of the provision of any health care service, to which they are entitled, and which they might at some time require. Hassine, 846 F.2d at 178 n. 5. 29 Even where individual facts and circumstances do become important to the resolution, class treatment is not precluded. Classes can be certified for certain particularized issues, and, under well-established principles of modern case management, actions are frequently bifurcated. In Eisenberg v. Gagnon, 766 F.2d 770 (3d Cir.1985), we held that a securities fraud case against three separate partnerships, and hence three different general partners, met the commonality requirement. The individual damage determinations could be made, we explained, at a separate phase of the trial, but the class phase could resolve the central issue of liability for the alleged misrepresentations and omissions.
30 The typicality inquiry is intended to assess whether the action can be efficiently maintained as a class and whether the named plaintiffs have incentives that align with those of absent class members so as to assure that the absentees' interests will be fairly represented. 3B MOORE & KENNEDY, p 23.06-02; 1 NEWBERG & CONTE, Sec. 3.13. The typicality criterion is intended to preclude certification of those cases where the legal theories of the named plaintiffs potentially conflict with those of the absentees by requiring that the common claims are comparably central to the claims of the named plaintiffs as to the claims of the absentees. See Weiss, 745 F.2d at 810. 31 Typicality entails an inquiry whether 'the named plaintiff's individual circumstances are markedly different or ... the legal theory upon which the claims are based differs from that upon which the claims of other class members will perforce be based.'  Hassine, 846 F.2d at 177 (quoting Eisenberg, 766 F.2d at 786); see also Hoxworth, 980 F.2d at 923; Appleyard, 754 F.2d at 958. Commentators have noted that cases challenging the same unlawful conduct which affects both the named plaintiffs and the putative class usually satisfy the typicality requirement irrespective of the varying fact patterns underlying the individual claims. See 1 NEWBERG & CONTE Sec. 3.13. Actions requesting declaratory and injunctive relief to remedy conduct directed at the class clearly fit this mold. 32 [F]actual differences will not render a claim atypical if the claim arises from the same event or practice or course of conduct that gives rise to the claims of the class members, and if it is based on the same legal theory. Hoxworth, 980 F.2d at 923 (citing Grasty v. Amalgamated Clothing & Textile Workers Union, 828 F.2d 123, 130 (3d Cir.1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1042, 108 S.Ct. 773, 98 L.Ed.2d 860 (1988), and 1 NEWBERG & CONTE Sec. 3.15). In Hoxworth, this court affirmed over typicality objections the class certification of a (b)(3) class of securities investors who had purchased or sold any of twenty-one securities during a specified period. We explained that the claims stemmed solely from the defendant's course of conduct in failing to advise purchasers of its excessive markup policy. Id.; see also Appleyard, 754 F.2d at 955 (reversing a denial of certification of a class challenging Alabama Medicaid admissions procedures). 33 Indeed, even relatively pronounced factual differences will generally not preclude a finding of typicality where there is a strong similarity of legal theories. See De La Fuente v. Stokely-Van Camp, Inc., 713 F.2d 225, 232 (7th Cir.1983) (affirming certification of a class challenging a farmworker recruitment system even though some of the named plaintiffs had not worked for the defendant company during the disputed years and even though it was not clear that all plaintiffs had worked in the specific employment situation as the named plaintiffs). 34 Where an action challenges a policy or practice, the named plaintiffs suffering one specific injury from the practice can represent a class suffering other injuries, so long as all the injuries are shown to result from the practice. See General Tel. Co. of Southwest v. Falcon, 457 U.S. at 157-59, 102 S.Ct. at 2370-71. In Falcon, the Supreme Court reversed certification of a class of Mexican Americans challenging hiring and promotion actions, which had been affirmed by the Fifth Circuit, on typicality grounds. Rather than standing for the proposition that a named plaintiff complaining of one specific injury (Falcon's not being promoted) cannot represent a class suffering perhaps a different injury (not being hired), Falcon merely requires that the class representative prove that there is a pervasive violation and that the various injuries alleged all stem from that common violation. Id. See also Wilder v. Bernstein, 499 F.Supp. 980, 992-94 (S.D.N.Y.1980) (holding that a claim against the overall child care system states a claim against the entire system and each of its components).
35 Besides meeting the requirements of Rule 23(a), plaintiffs must also satisfy one of the requirements of 23(b). The district court alternatively based its denial of certification on its conclusion that the plaintiffs failed this test. The plaintiffs maintain that their action satisfies Rule 23(b)(2), which is met if the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class, thereby making appropriate final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief with respect to the class as a whole. FED.R.CIV.P. 23(b). 36 In Weiss v. York Hospital, 745 F.2d at 811 we explained that this requirement is almost automatically satisfied in actions primarily seeking injunctive relief. When a suit seeks to define the relationship between the defendant(s) and the world at large, ... (b)(2) certification is appropriate. Id. Commentators have also noted that the language of (b)(2) does not even require that the defendant's conduct be directed or damaging to every member of the class. See 1 NEWBERG & CONTE Sec. 4.11, at 4-37. It is the (b)(2) class which serves most frequently as the vehicle for civil rights actions and other institutional reform cases that receive class action treatment. In fact, the injunctive class provision was designed specifically for civil rights cases seeking broad declaratory or injunctive relief for a numerous and often unascertainable or amorphous class of persons. Id. at 4-39. 37 What is important is that the relief sought by the named plaintiffs should benefit the entire class. The general applicability requirement of (b)(2) also aims to prevent prejudice to absentees by mandating that the putative class demonstrate that the interests of the class members are so like those of the individual representatives that injustice will not result from their being bound by such judgment in the subsequent application of principles of res judicata. Hassine, 846 F.2d at 179. But injunctive actions, seeking to define the relationship between the defendant and the world at large, will usually satisfy this requirement.
38 A review of the jurisprudence in this area discloses that many very similar lawsuits challenging the provision of services to foster children have been certified despite the varieties of factual differences that characterize the plaintiffs in each case and despite the variety of legal claims any one class may make. Many of these cases also involve claims by classes that include differently situated plaintiffs, who were not, at the time of the litigation, suffering identical injuries from the defendants' conduct. 39 For example, in a class action brought in Vermont state court, 16 the court certified a class of handicapped children challenging the provision of child welfare services over defendants' commonality and typicality objections based on factual differences of class members. The court explained: 40 Certainly, the plaintiffs will have different stories to tell. However, it is apparent from the pleadings that plaintiffs legal claims are based on a common factual predicate: the defendants alleged failure to fulfill their duties in providing for a coordinated system that protects the welfare of class members. The individual treatment of handicapped youths, while important and crucial to plaintiffs' case, only serves to support a larger inquiry into the functioning of the state structure appropriated for administering programs that serve the handicapped. 41 Jane T. v. Morse, No. S-359-86 WnC, slip op. at 4, (Vt.Super.Ct., June 12, 1987). 42 Courts have also certified class actions alleging a variety of legal claims falling under the rubric of a systemic failure to provide certain child welfare services. See e.g., LaShawn A. v. Dixon, 762 F.Supp. 959, 960 (D.D.C.1991). In that case the class challenged the alleged failure of the District of Columbia Department of Human Services to initiate timely investigations into reports of abuse or neglect, the failure to provide services to families to prevent the placement of children in foster care, the failure to place those who may not safely remain at home in appropriate foster homes and institutions, the failure to develop case plans for children in foster care, and the failure to make permanent placements. The class included foster children under the care of the DHS and children reported as abused or neglected, though not yet in the care of the DHS. The court certified the class. 43 Another federal court allowed a class of children in the custody of a child welfare agency to challenge the agency's failure to provide children with follow-up caseworkers to work with the family, to arrange for appropriate services, and to oversee the fulfillment of the childrens' medical and educational needs. The action requested a declaratory judgment that the policies violated the Fourteenth Amendment, an injunction requiring the defendant to submit a plan assuring legally adequate care and treatment, and the appointment of a master to determine the adequacy of the plan and to oversee its implementation. The court granted class certification. B.H. v. Johnson, 715 F.Supp. 1387, 1389 (N.D.Ill.1989). 44 There are many additional examples of certification of class actions asserting a broad range of grievances closely resembling those alleged in this case. See e.g., Smith v. Organization of Foster Families, 431 U.S. 816, 822 n. 7, 97 S.Ct. 2094, 2098 n. 7, 53 L.Ed.2d 14 (1977) (perceiving no error in district court's certification of foster parents, children, and intervening natural parents); Lynch v. Dukakis, 719 F.2d 504, 506 n. 1 (1st Cir.1983) (affirming district court's preliminary injunction, in favor of a class of foster children and their natural and foster families, ordering state social services department to comply with case plans and to review obligations of foster care maintenance program); Eric L. v. Bird, No. 91-376-D slip op. (D.N.H. Dec. 16, 1993) (certifying class of all New Hampshire children concerning whom the State Division of Children and Youth Services (DCYS) had received a complaint of abuse or neglect, who are the subject of a petition brought pursuant to state law or are entitled to services from DCYS as a result of court proceedings, and all children with disabilities who are placed either in twenty-four hour residential facilities or in foster care and whose families are in need of support services); David C. v. Leavitt, No. 93-C-206W slip op. (D.Utah May 5, 1993) (certifying over adequacy-of-representation objections a class of all children who are or will be in Utah's DHS custody or will be placed in a foster home, a group home, institutional care or a shelter and children who are or will be known to DHS by virtue of report of abuse or neglect). 45 Admittedly, these cases did not (with the exception of Jane T.) discuss commonality and typicality; nevertheless, the trial judges had to be satisfied that the requisites of Rule 23 (or its state law equivalent) were met in order to certify the classes. We find it persuasive that these courts have found quite similar actions to comply with Rule 23's requirements. 46