Opinion ID: 1755820
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Circuit Court's Order

Text: In its order denying class certification, the circuit court identified nine individual issues that the court concluded were predominant over the common issues. Specifically, the court found that: [I]ndividual issues will necessarily predominate over common issues in this case. These issues include the age at which exposure occurred, the nature of the exposure, the time period over which the exposure occurred, the blood lead level, the existence of other sources such as lead paint for any presence of lead, whether the individuals are presently suffering from any lead related injuries, whether the individuals are still being exposed or whether such exposure terminated, if the exposure to lead in Herculaneum has terminated how long ago it terminated, and whether there is any need for a particular individual to be monitored. Each of these nine individual factors is primarily relevant to a personal injury action, not a medical monitoring claim for which there is no necessity of establishing a present physical injury. This is particularly true given Plaintiff's theory of liability, which posits that liability is premised upon the exposure to toxins from a single source during a specified age range in childhood or in utero. Class membership is restricted by definition to persons who have received specified, medically significant minimum levels of exposure to the toxins discharged from the Doe Run smelter. It is the common fact of exposure to a set of toxins from a single source that is the common and overriding issue in Plaintiff's case. The significance and extent of toxic exposure is primarily an issue of common proof. Under this theory of liability, the individual factors identified by the circuit court are not particularly relevant because the need for monitoring is based on a common threshold of exposure. Whether Plaintiff is able to prove this theory is, at this stage, irrelevant because the sole issue is whether Plaintiff met the requirements for a cause of action, not whether Plaintiff will ultimately prevail. See, Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 178, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974). That the circuit court's analysis assumed a present physical injury requirement is further reflected in the court's reliance on In re Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation, 818 F.2d 145, 165 (2nd Cir. 1987), and Owner-Operator Indep. Drivers Ass'n v. New Prime, 213 F.R.D. 537, 547 (W.D.Mo.2002). The court cited these cases for the proposition that if individualized evidence about class members is necessary to prove that class members suffered a legal harm, then it is likely that common issues are subordinate. However, neither of these cases involved a medical monitoring claim. The Agent Orange case was a personal injury action and Owner-Operator was brought under the Truth-In-Lending Act. Liability in both cases was premised upon individualized determinations of the nature and extent of manifested damages. There is no need for such proof in a medical monitoring case. Agent Orange and Owner-Operator are not relevant authorities. The circuit court erred in relying on issues primarily relevant to a personal injury claim. The dissenting opinions assert that Plaintiff's claims are not typical of the class because she has filed a separate personal injury action. However, the circuit court did not address the typicality issue in its judgment. The circuit court can, on remand, address and make findings on the typicality issue as well as any issue regarding the substitution of parties. [8] Any finding of typicality or the lack thereof should be decided in the first instance by the circuit court, and not by this Court on appeal.