Court Opinion

ID: 9463701
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 23:13:33.588708+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:38:14.354719
License: Public Domain

ENGEL, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I respectfully dissent from so much of the majority opinion as is contained in the last paragraph thereof, vacating leave to appeal the question of whether, if a class action can be maintained, the district judge abused his discretion in certifying such a broad class. Contrary to the majority, I would reach that question, and based on the record presented to us, I would vacate the order certifying the class and remand to the district court for further consideration.
As plaintiffs state in their brief, “It is clear from the complaint filed in this case that the main thrust of this action deals with the Cumberland Steam Plant.” This being so, I think it was premature, at the very least, for the district court to have certified a class consisting of “all blacks presently employed by TVA, or formerly employed and presently laid off, who have allegedly been discriminated against on the basis of race.” The operations of TVA are immensely varied and extend over many states and into widely diverse activities.
I view the power to alter or amend a class certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c)(1) as granting courts flexibility to make adjustments as the progress of a class action may dictate, but not as an alternative to the responsibility imposed to make as accurate and early a determination of the class as practically possible. It would, in my judgment, have been far preferable to permit reasonable discovery to continue before certification, bearing in mind, of course, as we held in Senter v. General Motors Corp., 532 F.2d 511, 524 (6th Cir. 1976), that “race discrimination is peculiarly class discrimination.”
It strikes me as unfair and an abuse of discretion for the court, by so broad a certification, to force the defendant to prepare a defense ranging over the entire scope of its activities when only a more limited objective is stated. Yet with the broad class certification, it cannot safely do less.
The early, accurate, and fair determination of the limits of a class action is one of the most valuable services a court can perform for the parties, and for itself. It gives manageability to the lawsuit; it assures fair notice to those whose interests may be affected; it is economical and respectful of the time and resources of both litigants and court; it assures orderly progress toward worthwhile ends.