Opinion ID: 2328760
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sufficiency and Weight of Evidence

Text: Intermingled with its issues of class certification, KMA raises questions of whether the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's finding of liability for breach of express warranty, and of whether the jury's verdict was against the weight of the evidence. KMA asks that we reverse the Superior Court's decision and vacate the judgment in favor of the class. KMA maintains that Bassett's proof in support of her own claim against KMA was not probative of the other class members' claims and the trial court erroneously allowed the jury to extrapolate from evidence of Bassett's claim proof respecting the entire class. KMA again rests its argument on the premise that Bassett did not establish the commonality, typicality, adequacy of representation, and predominance prerequisites for class certification. According to KMA, the class also failed to prove all the elements of a breach of the express warranty claim and the Superior Court improperly used [evidence of] the [jury-]rejected implied warranty claims to justify a class-wide breach of express warranty cause of action. KMA's Brief at 28. Bassett responds that, at trial, she introduced class-wide common evidence which established that KMA breached its express warranty. According to Bassett, KMA did not object to the admission of the common evidence at trial and failed to argue against her offer of generalized proof. Bassett argues that, irrespective of KMA's argument on appeal, the jury credited her evidence and found KMA liable to the entire class. Bassett also recounts the evidence introduced at trial, specifically addressing the following elements of a breach of warranty: KMA's warranty or promise, KMA's failure to meet its promise, causation, notice to KMA and opportunity to cure, and the class members' damages. Although Bassett articulates her arguments with parallel references to the record from the trial and to the record created during class certification proceedings, she observes that there is a material difference between pre-trial certification and post-trial reexamination of a trial and argues that the question after trial is whether generalized proof was fairly presented and confronted by the parties at trial. Bassett's Brief at 33. In its Rule 1925(a) opinion, the trial court described the evidence introduced at trial and decided that it was sufficient to support the jury's verdict on Bassett's breach of express warranty claim. The court recounted that the of-record deposition of Tim McCurdy, KMA's Director of Technical Operations, and the testimony of Donald Pearce, KMA's Vice President of Parts and Service, and Bassett's expert indicated that all 1997-2000 Sephias had similarly designed brake systems with interchangeable components and all were equally affected by a systemic design problem. The court also noted internal documents which demonstrated that KMA was aware of the brake system problems as early as 1995 and tried unsuccessfully to convince parent-company KMC to remedy the problem. One document prepared for KMA vendors, for example, related the discrepancy between the high warranty claims rate for the Sephia (41.8%) versus the relatively low rate for KMA's Sportage (6.3%) during the 1997-1999 period. In addition, a field report from a Kia Parts Service Manager in May 1999 described the Sephias' defect as a well[-]known condition [that] needs to be corrected ASAP, and a record of calls to KMA's technical assistance hotline documented complaints that systemic design problems existed causing unreasonably early wear-out of brakes and rotors. The court also described evidence of KMA attempting to identify the brake problem with the aid of an independent engineering firm, and to remedy the defect by developing and introducing improved pads and rotors from different manufacturers. But, testing of the Sephias after KMC's brake pad and rotor improvements showed that the vehicles' brake system components continued to underperform. Subsequently, KMA offered a Brake Coupon Program to provide unconditional free repairs to Sephia owners who had had three or more brake repairs. Tr. Ct. Op., 12/29/06, at 10-22. Finally, the court described KMA's sale of 1997-2000 Sephias to consumers with identical written warranties, which provided that KMA promised the new Kia Vehicle [to be] free from defects in material and workmanship. KMA's warranty manual also included a maintenance schedule which recommended a first inspection of the brake system at 30,000 miles or 30 months for ordinary driving use, or 15,000 miles or 15 months for instances of severe driving conditions. Witnesses testified that, under ordinary use conditions, the Sephias did not meet consumer expectations for brake component life under either KMA or American consumer standards. The American consumer expectation was of a 20,000 miles effective life for brake pads but the Sephias were severely underperforming at 3,000 miles on the earlier models and 9,400 for later models. According to the trial court, evidence showed that KMA paid for some repairs and covered others as part of its coupon program. Tr. Ct. Op., 12/29/06, at 22-32. In the trial court's view, the evidence was sufficient to support the liability judgment in favor of the class; additionally, the verdict was fully supported by the weight of the evidence. Id. at 39. The Superior Court affirmed on the basis of the trial court's opinion. Super. Ct. Op., 10/24/07, at 2. Initially, we agree with Bassett that our examination of the trial court's pre-trial certification decision is materially different from our examination of issues raised post-trial following the judgment in favor of the class, including issues of evidentiary sufficiency and weight. Accord Behrend, 655 F.3d at 194-95 (court determined relevant geographic market solely for purposes of class certification and not binding on merits). The action proceeded at trial on behalf of the entire class. The class action mechanism is designed to permit a named individual to proceed to trial on behalf of the class, including herself, and to try all of the class members' claims together to judgment. See Bell, supra; Pa.R.C.P. No. 1715(c) (judgment entered in an action certified as a class action shall be binding on all members of the class except as otherwise directed by the court). Accord Joel H. Bernstein & Ronna Kublanow, Securities Arbitration 1993: Products, Procedures, and Causes of Action, 819 PLI/Corp 689, 703-05 (1993) (comparing discovery and trial procedure in class action versus multi-plaintiff proceedings). The record reflects that, at trial, the parties proceeded on the premise that Bassett was introducing evidence in support of all the class members' claims. Indeed, at no time did KMA file a motion to decertify the class pursuant to Rule 1710. Pa.R.C.P. No. 1710(d) (order certifying class may be revoked, altered, or amended before a decision on the merits). Once the jury rendered its decision, the trial court's certification of the class was no longer revocable. Id. The only available avenue for KMA to obtain relief from the judgment based on post-verdict arguments that evidence personal to Bassett was not probative of the class claims was to challenge the sufficiency or weight of the evidence. And, indeed, KMA essentially appears to be challenging the sufficiency and weight of the evidence, even if its claims are not so precisely articulated. [20] We address each claim.
When reviewing a sufficiency of the evidence claim in a civil case (here, a breach of express warranty action), an appellate court, viewing all the evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the verdict winner, must determine whether the evidence was sufficient to enable the factfinder to find that all the elements of the causes of action were established by a preponderance of the evidence. Elliott-Lewis Corp. v. York-Shipley, Inc., 372 Pa. 346, 94 A.2d 47, 50 (1953); Mescanti v. Mescanti, 956 A.2d 1017, 1020 (Pa.Super.2008). See McElwee v. Southeastern Pa. Transp. Auth., 596 Pa. 654, 948 A.2d 762, 774 (2008); Commonwealth v. Hawkins, 549 Pa. 352, 701 A.2d 492, 499 (1997). Whether a claim was established under a preponderance of the evidence standard is tantamount to a `more likely than not' inquiry. Popowsky, 937 A.2d at 1055 n. 18; Commonwealth v. D'Amato, 579 Pa. 490, 856 A.2d 806, 818-19 (2004). To prevail on her breach of express warranty claim in this class action, Bassett had to establish that KMA breached or failed to meet its warranty promise with respect to the members of the class, that the breach was the proximate cause of the harm to the class members, and the amount of the ensuing damages. Price v. Chevrolet Motor Div., 765 A.2d 800, 809 (Pa.Super.2000). [21] Additionally, because the class members had already accepted tender, Bassett had to show that the class notified KMA of the breach within a reasonable time. 13 Pa.C.S. § 2607(c)(1). KMA's warranty, provided to all the members of the class, states that: [KMA] warrants that [the] new Kia Vehicle is free from defects in material or workmanship, subject to the following terms and conditions. An Authorized Kia Dealer will make the necessary repairs, using new or remanufactured parts, to correct any problem covered by this limited warranty without charge to you.    The liability of [KMA] under this warranty is limited solely to the repair or replacement of parts defective in Kia-supplied material or workmanship by an Authorized Kia Dealer at its place of business.... E.g., KMA's 1999 Warranty and Consumer Information Manual at 4, 6; N.T., 5/24/05, Vol. 1, at 67 (warranty manual same for 1997-2000 Sephias). [22] At trial, the record shows that Bassett offered evidence (in the form of expert testimony from R. Scott King, testimony from KMA executives and other corporate designees, Tim McCurdy, Lee Sawyer, Donald Pearce, and Y.S. Sohn, [23] and internal KMA memoranda) that the 1997-2000 Sephias were manufactured and sold with defective front brake systems. The brake systems were defective because the rotors' placement on the vehiclesor the design of the brake systemdid not permit sufficient dispersal of heat generated during normal operation of the brakes, which caused premature wear of the brake pads and warping of the rotors. Once the lining on the brake pads wore down to the indicators and the rotors warped, the members of the class experienced noise and vibration when applying the brakes. KMA's corporate designee Tim McCurdy and Bassett's expert agreed that brake system components had to be replaced significantly in advance of when anticipated by KMA and by consumers. It was only in 2001, when a significant modification for that year's model involving a re-design of the front brake rotor, a larger brake pad, and a repositioning of the axle, that the performance of the brake system improved to KMA and American market expectations. According to Bassett's expert, high warranty claim rates for the 1997-2000 Sephias confirmed the existence of a common defect. See N.T., 5/19/05, Vol. 1, at 55, 60, 68-70, 95-116 (King testimony); N.T., 5/18/05, Vol. 1, at 80-81; 5/18/05, Vol. 2, at 15-16; 34-35, 41-42, 72-78 (McCurdy deposition); N.T., 5/23/05, Vol. 1, at 17, 20 (Sawyer deposition); N.T., 5/23/05, Vol. 1, at 42-43 (Pearce deposition); N.T., 5/23/05, Vol. 5. at 19-23 (Sohn deposition); Tim McCurdy Inter-Office Memorandum to James Lee, 2/03/99. Further, KMA did not make effective necessary repairs free of charge. KMA's warranty data, internal KMA documents, and King's testimony regarding the nature of the brake system defect allowed the jury to conclude that simply replacing the pads and rotors on the 1997-2000 model year Sephias was an ineffective repair, which did not resolve the defective design problem that affected the vehicles. Indeed, only a field fix for vehicles already on the market, announced via a January 2002 Technical Service Bulletin, and a redesign of the brake system for new models (re-named the Spectra), successfully offered the necessary repair in late 2001. See KMA Technical Service Bulletin (chassis division), 1/02, Vol. 3 # 8. Testimony from KMA's corporate designees Donald Pearce and Michelle Cameron [24] also established that Sephia owners were responsible to pay for repairs out of pocket following the premature wear of brake system components, because brake pads and rotors were generally not covered under the warranty. N.T., 5/23/05, Vol. 1, at 30-33, 42-43, 54-55, 58-62 (Pearce deposition); N.T., 5/24/05, Vol. 1, at 39 (Cameron cross-examination), 64-77 (Pearce cross-examination). Both Bassett's expert and KMA executives attributed consumer complaints of noise, vibration, and early brake component wear to the brake system design. Bassett's expert testified that none of the materials that he reviewed from KMA suggested that the widespread problem with the brakes on the Sephias was caused by individual driver habits such as a heavy foot on the brake, or road conditions, dirt, and dust. See N.T., 5/18/05, Vol. 2, at 41-43 (McCurdy deposition); N.T., 5/19/05, Vol. 1, at 107-10 (King testimony); N.T., 5/20/05, Vol. 1, at 46-52 (King re-direct), N.T., 5/23/05, Vol. 1, at 42-43 (Pearce deposition). The record also contained evidence that, at least since late 1998 (more than two years before the class action was filed), KMA had notice that the brake system on the Sephias, beginning with the 1997 model, was performing under market expectations in terms of wear and required frequent repair and replacement. According to KMA executives, they became aware of the problem because of an increase in the sale of brake parts and warranty claim activity. KMA sought repeatedly to increase the performance of the brake system but failed until 2001, when a field fix was developed for in-use models concurrently with the re-design of front brake system on the new model in the Sephia line. In the meantime, class members experienced varying treatment in seeking replacement of brake pads and rotors under the warranty. See Tim McCurdy Inter-Office Memorandum to James Lee, 2/03/99; KMC Brake Quality Team Meeting Summary, 2/15/99; N.T., 5/23/05, Vol. 1, at 16-18, 23-24 (Sawyer deposition); N.T., 5/18/05, Vol. 2, at 35 (McCurdy deposition). Finally, Bassett adduced sufficient evidence to prove that the members of the class suffered damages. Donald Pearce and Michelle Cameron testified that KMA dealerships offered some free repairs to promote good will for Sephia owners, as well as the brake coupon program in late 2001. But, according to the KMA witnesses, in general, the replacement of brake pads and rotors was not covered by the written warranty. As a result, KMA owners sustained out-of-pocket repair costs estimated by Bassett's expert at approximately $1,005 over the life of their Kia Sephia. On cross-examination, the expert stated that he derived the number not from Bassett's repair history data but by relying on data from KMA, and in particular on the Field Assurance and the Technical Assistance Center Incident reports, regarding the frequency of repairs over the life time of a Sephia. N.T., 5/19/05, Vol. 3, at 19-26 (King testimony); N.T., 5/20/05, Vol. 1, at 23 (King cross-examination); N.T., 5/23/05, Vol. 1, at 23-24 (Sawyer deposition); N.T., 5/23/05, Vol. 5, at 103; N.T., 5/24/05, Vol. 1, at 39 (Cameron cross-examination), 64-77 (Pearce cross-examination). [25] KMA's primary defense strategy at trial was to undermine the class assertions that the Sephia brake system was defective and that any defect affected all the members of the class, by referencing the design changes and the fact that it is common to hear complaints regarding noise, vibration, and brake component wear. KMA executive Y.S. Sohn explained that the primary goal of designing brakes was safety and that brake component longevity was simply an issue of merchantability or competitiveness in the automobile market. According to Sohn, there was no stated or established target for brake pad longevity by which to measure a premature wear defect. N.T., 5/24/05, Vol. 6, at 17-34, 45-48 (Bowman testimony); N.T., 5/25/05, Vol. 2, at 10-29 (Sohn deposition). KMA elicited testimony from Bassett's expert which confirmed that the rotors on Bassett's vehicle did not present a safety concern. The expert also agreed that other vehicle or driver-specific causes were possible for the symptoms exhibited by vehicles in the class; but, on re-direct, he concluded that KMA internal memoranda and warranty data persuaded him that they were not the proximate cause of the premature wear of brake system components experienced by the class members. Finally, although KMA asked the expert about whether he based his calculation of out-of-pocket repair costs for the class on Bassett's experience and challenged the expert's qualifications in providing an opinion on damages, KMA did not object to the introduction of aggregate damages evidence on due process or other grounds, and did not introduce any evidence to rebut the class expert's damages testimony. N.T., 5/16/05, Vol. 1, at 44-50 (motions); N.T., 5/19/05, Vol. 3, at 49, 52-61 (King cross-examination); N.T., 5/20/05, Vol. 1, at 5-9, 23 (King cross-examination), 46-51 (King re-direct). On appeal, KMA no longer presses the no defect theory it pursued at trial, and challenges instead whether sufficient evidence was introduced at trial to prove all the elements of a breach of warranty claim with respect to all the class members on the basis that the evidence described only Bassett's individual experience. Essentially, KMA questions whether Bassett established a breach of express warranty with respect to the entire class. See McElwee, 948 A.2d at 773. Contrary to KMA's claims, the evidence of record was sufficient to establish all the elements of a breach of warranty claim by a preponderance of the evidence. See Mescanti, 956 A.2d at 1020. The evidence established that KMA made the same promise to all class members, 1997-2000 Sephia owners, to deliver a vehicle free of manufacturing defects and to correct free of cost any problem covered by the warranty. All vehicles in the class were sold with a defectively designed brake system causing premature wear of brake components that necessitated frequent replacement. KMA knew that the 1997-2000 Sephias were not performing up to the expectations of KMA and the American market, and that the transactions were troublesome well before this lawsuit was filed. Although KMA sometimes covered the repairs under the warranty or offered free repairs under other consumer satisfaction programs, members of the class also paid for repairs out-of-pocket. Testimony supported a verdict of up to $1,005 per class member for out-of-pocket costs over the life of a Kia Sephia. This evidence was sufficient to establish the breach of warranty claim with respect to the entire class. Price, 765 A.2d at 809. The trial court did not commit an error of law in sustaining the verdict and rejecting KMA's application for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for a new trial.
Next, KMA essentially contends that the jury's verdict in favor of the class was against the weight of the evidence because the record contained nothing more than anecdotal testimony regarding [Bassett]'s personal experience, expert testimony regarding alleged `defects' generally present in class vehicles and irrelevant KMA statistics.... KMA's Brief at 18 (emphasis in original, footnote omitted). KMA insists that the individual experiences and circumstances of the class members differed and were unsuitable for class-wide treatment, citing selected evidence. Moreover, KMA states the only class-wide evidence was that KMA actually had performed under the warranty, and this proves that the class failed to establish a breach of express warranty. Id. at 27 (emphasis omitted). [26] The class responds that Bassett introduced evidence on behalf of herself and the class regarding all the necessary proof for a breach of express warranty. Allegations that a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or a new trial should have been granted because the verdict was against the weight of the evidence are addressed to the discretion of the trial court. Commonwealth v. Cousar, 593 Pa. 204, 928 A.2d 1025, 1035-36 (2007). An appellate court, therefore, reviews the exercise of discretion, not the underlying question whether the verdict is against the weight of the evidence. The factfinder is free to believe all, part, or none of the evidence and to determine the credibility of the witnesses. Id. The trial court awards a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or a new trial only when the jury's verdict is so contrary to the evidence as to shock one's sense of justice. In determining whether this standard has been met, appellate review is limited to whether the trial judge's discretion was properly exercised, and relief will only be granted where the facts and inferences of record disclose a palpable abuse of discretion. Id. at 1036. Thus, the trial court's decision based on a weight of the evidence claim is among the least assailable of its rulings. Id. After examining the evidence in this case, we find meritless KMA's assertion that the jury improperly extrapolated to the class evidence personal to Bassett, and that this process resulted in a verdict that shocks one's sense of justice. Bassett, as the representative of the class, introduced evidence that addressed and tended to prove KMA's liability to each of the class members. KMA's assertion to the contrary is based on selected witness testimony and rests on claims of erroneous credibility determinations. Witness credibility is an issue solely for the jury to determine. Commonwealth v. Hawkins, 549 Pa. 352, 701 A.2d 492, 501 (1997). The jury in this case had an opportunity to hear conflicting evidence regarding the existence of a common brake system design defect affecting the 1997-2000 model Sephias, of KMA's knowledge of the defect, of KMA's unsuccessful efforts to repair the defect, and of its policy to consider brake component repairs non-warranty items, only sometimes covering replacements and, consequently, causing Sephia owners out-of-pocket costs. Bassett presented evidence in support of claims for the entire class. Cf. Behrend, 655 F.3d at 203-04 (court's inquiry is whether class claims may be proven on class-wide basis using common proof). Based on this evidence, the jury found in favor of Bassett and the class on the breach of express warranty claim and awarded damages. We see no abuse of discretion in the trial court concluding that the verdict is not so contrary to the evidence as to shock one's sense of justice. Whether the amount of damages awarded to each class member is against the weight of the evidence is a narrower and potentially more difficult question. Bassett's expert testified that each class member incurred identical costs of approximately $1,005. He calculated these costs based on: (1) a life expectancy for each Kia of 100,000 miles, (2) during which time, brake system components would be replaced approximately every 10,000 miles, half the distance that would have met KMA and industry standards, (3) at the average cost of replacing brake components in Pennsylvania ($175 for replacing brake pads and resurfacing rotors, and $240 for replacing brake pads and replacing rotors). Bassett's expert estimated that each vehicle underwent five extra repairs in addition to wear-and-tear replacements of brake pads and rotors. This calculation, of course, does not account for factors such as: whether class members owned their vehicles for 100,000 miles, whether each class member experienced exactly five additional repairs, and whether any additional repairs were covered under the warranty. Indeed, warranty data introduced at trial reflected that KMA covered some of the brake component replacements under good will and brake coupon programs, which suggested that a number of the estimated repairs for the class did not in fact cause class members out-of-pocket expenses. As Mr. Justice Saylor explains in his dissent, the class never attempted to account for variables in damages resulting from markedly different experiences of personal expenditure to address Sephia brake problems. Dissenting Op., at 59, 60-61 & n. 7. The class expert testified to aggregate damages representing out-of-pocket costs that likely did not reflect the actual expenses of each or even most members of the class. As Justice Saylor points out, this evidentiary approach blur[s] the substantive requirements of the law of damages. Id. at 64. The dissent emphasizes that court sanctioning of agreements to calculate damages in the aggregate as part of class action settlements involves different considerations from court approval of aggregate damages evidence proffered in the adversarial trial setting. See id. at 63-64 n. 14 (citing City of Detroit v. Grinnell Corp., 356 F.Supp. 1380, 1385 (S.D.N.Y.1972)). As Justice Saylor notes, the parties' consensual acceptance of rough justice does not distort the expectations, predictability, and fundamental fairness of our judicial system. See id. at 64. On the other hand, we note that some jurisdictions have permitted the use of aggregate damages calculations in class actions. See, e.g., Scottsdale Mem'l Health Sys., Inc. v. Maricopa County, 224 Ariz. 125, 228 P.3d 117, 133 (App.2010) (rejecting claim that calculating damages based on statistical sampling is per se violation of due process); In re Pharm. Indus. Average Wholesale Price Litig., 582 F.3d 156, 197-99 (1st Cir.2009) ( In re Pharm. ) (rejecting due process challenge to aggregate damages and to expert's method of calculating those damages); Hilao v. Estate of Marcos, 103 F.3d 767, 784-86 (9th Cir. 1996) (rejecting due process challenge to aggregate damages calculation based on sample claims); but see, e.g., McLaughlin v. Am. Tobacco Co., 522 F.3d 215, 231-33 (2d Cir.2008) (aggregate recovery for class followed by individualized distribution violates due process); In re Fibreboard Corp., 893 F.2d 706, 711-12 (5th Cir.1990) (aggregate damages extrapolated from damages of sample plaintiffs violated Texas law requiring proof of causation and damages). In In re Pharm., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit concluded that: Aggregate computation of class monetary relief is lawful and proper. Courts have not required absolute precision as to damages. 582 F.3d at 197 (quoting 3 Herbert B. Newberg & Alba Conte, Newberg on Class Actions § 10.5, at 483-86 (4th ed.2002) (Newberg)). Accord Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc., 395 U.S. 100, 124, 89 S.Ct. 1562, 23 L.Ed.2d 129 (1969) (citing Story Parchment Co. v. Paterson Parchment Paper Co., 282 U.S. 555, 564, 51 S.Ct. 248, 75 L.Ed. 544 (1931)) ([a]lthough the factfinder is not entitled to base a judgment on speculation or guesswork, the jury may make a just and reasonable estimate of the damage based on relevant data, and render its verdict accordingly). With specific respect to a due process challenge to such a computational model, the First Circuit stated: Challenges that such aggregate proof affects substantive law and otherwise violates the defendant's due process or jury trial rights to contest each member's claim individually, will not withstand analysis. . . . Just as an adverse decision against the class in the defendant's favor will be binding against the entire class in the aggregate without any rights of individual class members to litigate the common issues individually, so, too, an aggregate monetary liability award for the class will be binding on the defendant without offending due process. In re Pharm., 582 F.3d at 197-98 (quoting Newberg, supra ). Furthermore, as Justice Saylor notes, some jurisdictions have accepted the use of statistical, surveying, and sampling techniques in class actions to prove damages in the aggregate, while others have rejected the approach. See Dissenting Op. at 62 n. 10 (citing Laurens Walker, A Model Plan to Resolve Federal Class Action Cases by Jury Trial, 88 Va. L.Rev. 405, 415-20 (2002); 2 MCLAUGHLIN ON CLASS ACTIONS § 8:7 (6th ed.2010)). The question of whether testimony regarding aggregate damages is probative to calculate the amount of damages in a class action would be an issue of first impression for this Court. In this instance, Bassett's expert offered such testimony. Once the evidence was offered, KMA had the opportunity to object that it was incompetent to the task or violated KMA's right to due process (or other rights), to cross-examine the witness on the weakness of his methodology, or rebut the argument with evidence of its own; yet, the testimony of Bassett's expert went unchallenged in these respects. Instead, as we read the record and KMA's brief, KMA proceeded both at trial and on appeal on the theory that Bassett introduced only evidence of her own damages and no evidence of damages to any other member of the class. But, this position misapprehends the record. As described, Bassett's expert specifically testified to his calculation of estimated damages for each member of the class, which in the aggregate produced the molded verdict. Justice Saylor has well demonstrated that this testimony was subject to a colorable objection on the ground that it inaccurately or imprecisely captured the amount of damages for individual members of the class. But, at the appropriate time at trial, when any error in this regard could have been addressed or avoided, KMA did not challenge the expert's method of calculating damages in the aggregate on due process or any other grounds, and thus waived the argument. The dissent articulates a problematic issue regarding the proof and determination of individual damages differently, and certainly more cogently, than KMA did either at trial or on appeal. In light of existing jurisprudence that articulates a reasonable ground upon which to permit certain forms of aggregate damages evidence in class action litigation, and in light of the narrower nature of KMA's preserved challenge to the damages calculation here, we find no abuse of discretion in the rejection of this aspect of KMA's weight claim. [27]