Bauer v. Kraft Foods Global, Inc.

277 F.R.D. 558, 81 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1086, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20969, 2012 WL 539368
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Wisconsin
DecidedFebruary 15, 2012
DocketNo. 11-cv-15-bbc
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 277 F.R.D. 558 (Bauer v. Kraft Foods Global, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bauer v. Kraft Foods Global, Inc., 277 F.R.D. 558, 81 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1086, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20969, 2012 WL 539368 (W.D. Wis. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION and ORDER

BARBARA B. CRABB, District Judge.

In this proposed class action brought under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461, and the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185, plaintiffs United Food and Commercial Workers Local Union 538, Richard Bauer, Vaughn Frye, Joe Delfosse and Daniel McGill contend that defendant Kraft Foods Global, Inc. violated ERISA and the collective bargaining agreement between the parties by reducing retiree health insurance benefits.

Now before the court is plaintiffs’ amended motion for class certification under Fed. R.Civ.P. 23. Dkt. # 24. Plaintiffs seek certification of a class composed of:

Former hourly employees employed at Kraft Foods Global, Inc.’s Oscar Mayer Foods Division, Madison, Wisconsin plant whose retirement began on January 1, 2001, through and including retirements beginning on March 1, 2004, and retirees who retired between August 1, 2000 and December 1, 2000, who chose coverage under the Kraft Choice Retiree Medical Plan.

Plts.’ Supp. Br., dkt. # 31, at 3.

In an order on January 3, 2012,1 instructed plaintiffs to supplement their class certification materials with evidence and arguments relevant to the requirements under Fed.R.Civ.P. 23 for class certification. After reviewing plaintiffs’ supplement, I conclude that plaintiffs have satisfied the requirements of Rule 23(a) and that the class may be maintained under Rule 23(b)(3). Therefore, I will grant plaintiffs’ amended motion for class certification.

In the January 3, 2012 order, I also directed plaintiffs to explain why United Food and Commercial Workers Local Union 538 should [561]*561remain a plaintiff in this ease. Plaintiff concedes in its supplemental brief that the union would not be an appropriate class representative because its claims would not be typical of the class. Therefore, I will dismiss the union from the ease.

I find the following facts to be undisputed for the purpose of deciding plaintiffs’ motion for class certification.

FACTS

Plaintiffs Richard Bauer, Vaughn Frye, Joe Delfosse and Daniel McGill and members of the proposed class were employed by defendant Kraft Foods Global, Inc. at the Madison, Wisconsin meat processing plant until they retired. They were members of United Foods and Commercial Workers Local 538 and are subject to a collective bargaining agreement between Local 538 and defendant that was active between July 7, 2000 and March 1, 2004. Plaintiffs and class members are also subject to a Memorandum of Agreement that was signed on April 30, 2001 relating to their health benefits under the collective bargaining agreement.

In October or November 2010, defendant sent a notice to retirees announcing changes to the retiree health care plans. This notice announced that defendant was eliminating the Dean Health Plan HMO option beginning January 1, 2011. This change meant that retirees could not continue treatment with their Dean Care physicians. For example, plaintiff Frye cannot receive treatment at the Waunakee Dean Clinic and must find a new physician in Sun Prairie and incur travel costs. Defendant’s amendments to the health plan also increased the costs for some prescription drugs.

OPINION

Plaintiffs contend that defendant’s decision to eliminate the Dean Health Plan option and increase prescription drug costs violated ERISA and the Labor Management Relations Act because the changes violated the vested rights of the retirees and breached the collective bargaining agreements between the parties. Plaintiffs seek to certify a class of all retirees who were covered by the Kraft Choice Retiree Medical Plan and who retired between August 1, 2000 and December 1, 2000, and January 1, 2001 and March 1, 2004. (The parties explain that there were no retirees between December 1, 2000 and January 1, 2001.)

Before the court may certify a class, plaintiffs must satisfy the requirements of both Rule 23(a) and (b). Rosario v. Livaditis, 963 F.2d 1013, 1017 (7th Cir.1992). First, plaintiffs must show that they may be allowed to sue as a representative party on behalf of others by meeting the four prerequisites laid out in Rule 23(a): (1) numerosity, that “the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable”; (2) commonality, that “there are questions of law or fact common to the class”; (3) typicality, that “the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class”; and (4) adequacy, that “the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a). Next, plaintiffs must show that the proposed class action “may be maintained” as one of the four types of class actions permitted under Rule 23(b).

This court makes an initial assessment whether proposed class representatives have standing and whether the proposed class is “precise, objective and presently ascertainable,” an implicit requirement in determining whether a class may be certified. E.g., Ruppert v. Alliant Energy Cash Balance Pension Plan, 255 F.R.D. 628, 633 (W.D.Wis.2009); Blihovde v. St. Croix County, 219 F.R.D. 607, 616 (W.D.Wis.2003). In this case neither the proposed class representatives’ standing nor the ascertainability of the proposed class is in dispute and neither appears to be a problem.

A. Numerosity and Commonality

There is little doubt that the proposed class satisfies the numerosity and commonality requirements of Rule 23(a). With respect to numerosity, the parties have stipulated that the proposed class has 311 members. A class of 311 is sufficiently numerous to make joinder impracticable.

[562]*562As for commonality, plaintiff must demonstrate “that the class members ‘have suffered the same injury.’ ” Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 2541, 2551, 180 L.Ed.2d 374 (2011). Additionally, the common contention “must be of such a nature that it is capable of classwide resolution — which means that determination of its truth or falsity will resolve an issue that is central to the validity of each one of the claims in one stroke.” Id.

In this ease, the central issues are common to all members of the proposed class, namely, whether defendant violated ERISA and collective bargaining agreements between the parties by amending the retirees’ health care benefits to eliminate the Dean Health option and raise prescription costs. These issues are amenable to class-wide resolution and sufficient to establish commonality.

B. Typicality and Adequacy

Under the typicality requirement, the focus is whether the representative plaintiffs’ claims are based on the same legal theory and arise from the same conduct that gives rise to the claims of the other members of the proposed class. Rosario,

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277 F.R.D. 558, 81 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1086, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20969, 2012 WL 539368, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bauer-v-kraft-foods-global-inc-wiwd-2012.