Opinion ID: 1381117
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: did the trial court err in certifying the suit as a class action?

Text: The associations and the state raise two issues upon which they claim the trial court erred in certifying the plaintiff's class. First, they claim that the trial court erred in certifying the class after the court had already passed on the merits of the case in the summary judgment motions. Second, they maintain that the trial court erred in finding that the representative parties would fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. These two aspects are discussed below. [10]
The fishermen brought their suit as a class action from the time of the original complaint. Early in the case, the plaintiffs moved the court for class certification and the court issued an order finding that two of the requirements of a class action had been met; namely that the class of plaintiffs was so numerous that joinder of all members would be impracticable and that there were questions of law common to the class. Alaska R.Civ.P. 23(a)(1), (2). Later, the plaintiffs again moved for class certification. While this motion was still pending, the defendant associations and the state filed a motion for summary judgment. The plaintiffs replied with their own summary judgment motion. The court then gave its partial summary judgment order in favor of the plaintiffs. Finally, the trial court subsequently certified the class. The defendants maintain the trial court erred in entering the judgment on the merits before it certified the class action. They rely on Civil Rule 23(c)(1), which provides in relevant part: As soon as practicable after the commencement of an action brought as a class action, the court shall determine by order whether it is to be so maintained. Relying on the identical federal rule in Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974), the United States Supreme Court held that a trial court may not hold a preliminary hearing on the merits of a case to determine whether a plaintiff is likely to prevail on his claims so as to allow the imposition of the costs of class notice on the defendant. Id. at 177-78, 94 S.Ct. at 2152, 40 L.Ed.2d at 748-49. Defendants contend this holding implies that under no circumstances may a court decide the merits of a case before passing on the issue of class certification. While some courts have indeed required that class certification precede a determination of the merits, [11] it is apparent that any right to such a procedure can be waived, either expressly [12] or impliedly. [13] We have no difficulty finding a waiver under the facts of this case. The plaintiffs diligently sought adjudication of the class action issues by twice moving for certification. The defendants initiated summary judgment proceedings while plaintiffs' second motion for certification of the class action was pending. Under these circumstances, the trial court did not err in ruling on the merits and then certifying the class.
Civil Rule 23(a)(4) provides that a class action can be maintained only if the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. The defendants contend that the plaintiffs could not provide adequate representation for the class because they had interests antagonistic to other members of the class. First, the determination of the adequacy of representation in a class action is a question of fact. Guerine v. J & W Investment, Inc., 544 F.2d 863, 864 (5th Cir.1977); 7 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1765, at 622-23 (1972). As a question of fact, the trial court's finding will not be reversed unless clearly erroneous; in other words, the trial court will not be reversed unless, in light of the whole record, it can be said with a definite and firm conviction that the trial judge was clearly mistaken. Alaska Foods, Inc. v. American Mfrs. Mut. Ins. Co., 482 P.2d 842, 848 (Alaska 1971). Second, in order to bar a suit, the antagonism must be as to the subject matter of the suit. Berman v. Narragansett Racing Ass'n, 414 F.2d 311, 317 (1st Cir.1969), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 1037, 90 S.Ct. 682, 24 L.Ed.2d 681 (1970); 7 C. Wright & A. Miller, supra, § 1768, at 639; 3B J. Moore, supra note 8, ¶ 23.07[3], at 23-237. Third, it should be noted that in a suit to strike down a statute as unconstitutional, the requirement of adequate representation loses vitality. The effect of a finding of unconstitutionality will affect everyone, not just the parties before the court. Thus, even if [a] plaintiff is not a proper representative in the traditional sense, striking a class claim will not effectively change the end result if the party successfully proceeds on an individual basis. 7 C. Wright & A. Miller, supra, § 1771, at 664. See also 3B J. Moore, supra note 8, ¶ 23.40[3], at 23-299 n. 15. In the present case, this would simply mean that the named plaintiffs would be burdened with the expenses of the suit without reimbursement from a class recovery. The effect of the action on the defendants and the rest of the class is the same whether the suit is brought as a class or as an individual action. Finally, it should be noted that in a suit seeking to have a statute declared unconstitutional, there are only two sides to the argument; either the statute is constitutional or it is not. In such a case where there are no inherent conflicts inter se among class members (such as rights to differing shares in a limited fund), the interests of class members antagonistic to the representatives' constitutional attack will usually be adequately represented by the defendants. In the present case, the trial court was not clearly erroneous in finding the representation of the class to be adequate. First, the major antagonism claimed was that most of the fishermen in the region had supported, by their votes, mandatory assessments. Since the basis of this suit is the seeking of a declaration of the constitutionality of a statute, the rights of all class members are affected in the same way, whether or not it is brought as a class action. Moreover, the defendant associations and the state have vigorously opposed the constitutional attack of the plaintiffs and have thereby necessarily represented the interests of antagonistic class members to have the statute declared constitutional.