Braden v. Korman Corp.

31 Pa. D. & C.3d 372, 1983 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 130
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Bucks County
DecidedJanuary 21, 1983
Docketno. 75-8920-11-15
StatusPublished

This text of 31 Pa. D. & C.3d 372 (Braden v. Korman Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Bucks County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Braden v. Korman Corp., 31 Pa. D. & C.3d 372, 1983 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 130 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1983).

Opinion

BORTNER, J.,

On September 13, 1969, plaintiffs, Herbert and Patricia Braden, entered into a written agreement of sale to purchase from defendant, The Korman Corporation, a home in the Oxford Development of Cornwells Heights. Six years later, on September 23, 1975, plaintiffs instituted this action seeking equitable refief and compensatory damages, alleging that their purchase of the property was induced by certain fraudulent oral representations made by defendant concerning its future development of the tract. Specifically, plaintiffs charge that representatives of defendant stated that the corporation would provide the property owners of Oxford with parks, a clubhouse, swimming clubs, tennis courts, bridal paths, a ski area, a marina, a golf course and other athletic facilities and would generally adhere to development plans then on file with the Township of Bensalem. In keeping with the requirements for an [373]*373action of misrepresentation, plaintiffs claim that their purchase of the Oxford Home was made in reliance upon these statements.

Plaintiffs now move this court for an order certifying the matter as a class action pursuant to Rule 1701 et seq. of the Pa.R.C.P. and Rule *266 of the Bucks County Rules of Civil Procedure. Furthermore, plaintiffs request that they be appointed representatives of a class comprising all original purchasers of real estate in the Oxford Development, approximately three hundred in number.

As a basis for the certification of class action status, plaintiffs allege they have satisfied all the requirements of Pa.R.C.P. 1702. These include numerosity of the members of the class, commonality of questions of law or fact, typicalness of the representative’s claims and defenses, a likelihood that the representatives would fairly and adequately assert the interests of the other members of the class, and the underlying fairness and efficiency of employing the class action as a method for adjudicating the controversy.

For its part, defendant maintains that common questions of law or fact are not presented in this action, since the actual reliance of each individual purchaser would necessarily be the subject of individual proof. Defendant further agrees that plaintiff’s claims are not typical of the class and that one of plaintiff’s could not adequately represent the class, in light of his voting record at relevant Bensalem Township Board of Supervisor’s meetings.

Pursuant to Pa.R.C.P.1707, an evidentiary hearing was held before the undersigned on June 17, 1982. Upon consideration of the oral arguments there presented, the thorough briefing by counsel [374]*374for the litigants, and the applicable statutory and case law, we make the following

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Defendant, The Korman Corporation, developed and offered for sale a tract of homes known as Oxford in Cornwells Heights, Township of Bensalem.

2. Plaintiffs purchased a home in the Oxford development from defendant by a written instrument dated September 13, 1969.

3. Defendant sold homes in the Oxford development to approximately 300 original purchasers.

4. Plaintiffs have alleged a cause of action based in fraud and misrepresentation with respect to the original sale of each and every home in the Oxford development.

5. The issue of liability in the instant case requires each and every claimant to prove, inter alia, that the alleged fraudulent oral representations were made and that the decision to purchase the property was made in reliance upon the specified misrepresentations.

DISCUSSION

Plaintiffs’ substituted brief in support of their motion for certification of the class provides an exhaustive discussion of the requirements imposed by Pennsylvania’s Rules of Civil Procedure upon those who would bring a class action in the Commonwealth. It also purports to demonstrate the ability of plaintiffs’ case to meet those requirements. However, for reasons enunciated below, we do not believe plaintiffs have met the burden imposed upon them, as the moving party, of establishing that the case is properly maintainable as a class action.

[375]*375Pa.R.C.P. 1708(a)(1) requires courts charged with the certification of a class to consider “whether common questions of law or fact predominate over any question affecting only individual rights.” As plaintiffs properly observe, this rule approximates the standard described by Justice Roberts in Klemow v. Time, Incorporated, 466 Pa. 189, 196, 352 A.2d 12, 16 (1976); cert. den. 429 U.S. 828 (1977); that there be “a common issue shared by all class members which can be justly resolved in a single action. “Without passing on the merits of plaintiffs’ other grounds for certification, we conclude that no predominant question of law or fact is presented by this complaint.

The difficulties implicit in the prosecution of an action for misrepresentation in a class action setting have long been noted by the judiciary. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, for example, considered this in a footnote to its opinion in Klemow, supra:

“The successful maintenance of a cause of action for fraud includes, inter alia, a showing that the plaintiff acted in rebanee on the defendant’s misrepresentations. (Citations omitted.) Because such a showing would normally vary from person to person, this cause of action is not generally appropriate for resolution in a plaintiff-class action.” 466 Pa. at 197, 352 A.2d at 16.

This is not to say that no suit sounding in fraud may be brought as a class action. Where the misrepresentations are consistent and the rebanee is uniform, as in a shareholder’s action against a corporation under the federal securities laws, such a device may be regarded as the ideal forum for the matter’s resolution. Berland v. Mack, 48 F.R.D. 121 (SDNY 1969); Harris v. Palm Springs Alpine Estates, Inc., 329 F.2d 909 (9th Cir. 1964). However, as noted in the Advisory Committee’s Note on Rule 23:

[376]*376. . a fraud case may be unsuited for treatment as a class action if there was material variation in the representations made or in the kinds or degrees of reliance by the persons to whom they were addressed.” 39 F.R.D. 69, 103.

Of course, this is precisely the situation complained of in the present case. Paragraph five of plaintiff’s second amended complaint contains the allegation that defendants offered certain oral representations concerning the future improvement of the Oxford Development, while paragraph seven states that plaintiff relied upon those representations in agreeing to purchase certain premises from defendant. Similarly, paragraphs eleven and twelve state the conclusion that all of the original purchasers of real estate in the development relied upon the same oral representations in electing to purchase from the defendant.

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William Harris v. Palm Springs Alpine Estates, Inc.
329 F.2d 909 (Ninth Circuit, 1964)
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Gilbert v. Woods Marketing, Inc.
454 F. Supp. 745 (D. Minnesota, 1978)
Korona v. Bensalem Township
122 A.2d 688 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1956)
Klemow v. Time Incorporated
352 A.2d 12 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1976)
Acton v. Johnson
240 S.W.2d 541 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1951)
Squire v. Wing
17 A.D.2d 835 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1962)
Bennett v. Strow
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Berland v. Mack
48 F.R.D. 121 (S.D. New York, 1969)

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Bluebook (online)
31 Pa. D. & C.3d 372, 1983 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 130, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/braden-v-korman-corp-pactcomplbucks-1983.