Almendares v. Palmer

222 F.R.D. 324, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13514, 2004 WL 1616572
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedJuly 16, 2004
DocketNo. 3:00 CV 7524
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 222 F.R.D. 324 (Almendares v. Palmer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Almendares v. Palmer, 222 F.R.D. 324, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13514, 2004 WL 1616572 (N.D. Ohio 2004).

Opinion

ORDER

CARR, District Judge.

This is a civil rights class action case brought by plaintiffs Ela Almendares and Tomas Juvier against defendants Lucas County Department of Job and Family Services (“LCDJFS”), Isaac Palmer, Director of LCDJFS, and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (“ODJFS”). Plaintiffs allege that defendants have violated federal law by failing to provide adequate bilingual services in their operation of the Ohio Food Stamp Program. Plaintiffs claim that defendants’ failure to provide such services constitutes discrimination against them on the basis of national origin and thus violates Title VI, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq. This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331.

Pending is plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. For the following reasons, that motion shall be granted.

BACKGROUND

The plaintiffs are low-income Spanish-speaking, or “limited English proficient” (“LEP”), recipients of food stamps. They are residents of Lucas County, Ohio, and their food stamp benefits are administered by the LCDJFS. Plaintiffs allege that defendants routinely provide them and members of the proposed class with English notices and information about the food stamp program. They contend that the inability of LEP individuals to understand notices and other information communicated in English causes confusion and alienation, and constitutes unlawful discrimination against the prospective class. They request declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of the class.

In earlier orders, this court dismissed plaintiffs’ claims based on the Food Stamp Act and state and federal regulations, leaving only plaintiffs’ Title VI national origin discrimination claim. Thus, plaintiffs now seek class certification to pursue their Title VI claim only.1

[327]*327Plaintiffs propose to bring this action on behalf of themselves and a class consisting of:

a. All Ohio Limited English Proficient (LEP) persons or households whose primary language is Spanish and who are receiving Food Stamps, or who have received Food Stamps in the past, or who have been certified or re-certified as eligible to receive Food Stamps, or who were or are eligible to receive Food Stamps from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
b. All Lucas County Limited English Proficient (LEP) persons or households whose primary language is Spanish and who are receiving Food Stamps, or who have received Food Stamps in the past or who have been certified or re-certified as eligible to receive Food Stamps from the Lucas County Department of Job and Family Services.

(Doc. 106, at 4).

Defendants contend, and plaintiffs do not deny, that neither of the two named plaintiffs, Ela Almendares and Tomas Juvier, has suffered an interruption in the provision of her/his food stamp benefits due to defendants’ alleged failure to provide notices and other information in Spanish. Defendants point out that Almendares and Juvier, both residents of Lucas County, are assigned to the same bilingual caseworker who interprets English documents for them and otherwise communicates with them in Spanish. Defendants argue that neither plaintiff has suffered an actual injury; therefore, defendants assert that neither has standing to bring this lawsuit on behalf of the class.

Defendants also argue that because Al-mendares suffers from a cognitive disability that prevents her from fully understanding even her native language, she is not a good representative of the proposed class.

Additionally, defendants raise a number of arguments challenging the appropriateness of the proposed class under the requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 23. These contentions include: plaintiffs have not sufficiently identified the number of potential class members; the named plaintiffs’ claims are not typical of the proposed class; there are insufficient common issues of fact or law among proposed class members; and the two named plaintiffs cannot adequately and fairly represent the interests of the proposed class.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

“In determining the propriety of a class action, the question is not whether the plaintiff or plaintiffs have stated a cause of action or will prevail on the merits, but rather whether the requirements of Rule 23 are met.” Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 178, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974) (internal citation omitted). The court must conduct a “rigorous analysis” into whether the prerequisites of Rule 23 are met. Gen. Tel. Co. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 161, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982). This means that a class is not maintainable simply because the complaint repeats the legal requirements of Rule 23. In re Am. Med. Sys., Inc., 75 F.3d 1069, 1079 (6th Cir.1996). “‘[I]t may be necessary for the court to probe behind the pleadings before coming to rest on the certification question.’ ” Id. (quoting Falcon, 457 U.S. at 160, 102 S.Ct. 2364).

DISCUSSION

Defendants make two major arguments against plaintiffs’ motion for class certifica[328]*328tion: 1) plaintiffs do not have standing to bring the suit on behalf of themselves because they have suffered no actual injury; and 2) plaintiffs have failed to establish that their proposed class action fulfills the requirements laid out in Fed.R.Civ.P. 23.

Because the standing issue turns on “whether the plaintiff has ‘alleged such a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy as to warrant his invocation of federal-court jurisdiction and to justify exercise of the court’s remedial powers on his behalf,” Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498-99, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975), I first consider the named plaintiffs’ Article III standing to bring this suit on their own behalf. Concluding that the named plaintiffs have standing to bring this lawsuit, I then analyze their motion for class certification under Rule 23.

I. Article III Standing

Defendants argue that the two named plaintiffs do not have standing under Article III of the United States Constitution and are therefore barred from bringing this claim on behalf of themselves or the proposed class.

“Whether a party has standing under Article III of the Constitution to bring a claim ‘involves both constitutional hmitations on federal court jurisdiction and prudential limitations on its exercise.’” MX Group, Inc. v. City of Covington, 293 F.3d 326, 332 (6th Cir.2002) (quoting Warth, 422 U.S. at 498, 95 S.Ct. 2197).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
222 F.R.D. 324, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13514, 2004 WL 1616572, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/almendares-v-palmer-ohnd-2004.