Brunson v. Louisiana-Pacific Corp.

266 F.R.D. 112, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10779, 2010 WL 503099
CourtDistrict Court, D. South Carolina
DecidedFebruary 8, 2010
DocketC.A. No. 2:07-3186-PMD
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 266 F.R.D. 112 (Brunson v. Louisiana-Pacific Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brunson v. Louisiana-Pacific Corp., 266 F.R.D. 112, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10779, 2010 WL 503099 (D.S.C. 2010).

Opinion

ORDER

PATRICK MICHAEL DUFFY, District Judge.

This matter is before the court upon Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. This court previously certified a similar class in a lawsuit against Defendants, except that class was limited to members residing in Charleston County. Thomas v. Louisianar-Pacific Corporation, 246 F.R.D. 505 (D.S.C.2007). This action seeks to certify a putative class comprised of members with the same claims as those presented in Thomas, but who live in certain South Carolina counties other than Charleston. For the reasons set forth herein, the court grants Plaintiffs’ motion.

BACKGROUND

Named Plaintiff Kevin Brunson owns a home in Berkeley County, and named Plaintiffs Eunice Caro and Clifton Spann each own a home in Beaufort County. Plaintiffs allege their homes were constructed with a wood exterior trim product, known as “Trim-Board,” which was designed, manufactured, sold, and distributed by Defendants “for use as fascia, soffit, corner board, window trim, door trim and general exterior use on homes, apartments, condominiums, buildings and other structures.” (Am.Compl^ 12.) According to Plaintiffs, Defendants “represented and marketed their TrimBoard product as being a low maintenance product that would save on painting costs and [was] superior to real wood trim products.” (Am. Compl.f 13.) Even though Defendants are alleged to hold themselves out as “being knowledgeable in the design and manufacture of exterior building products and as being providers of quality building products,” (Am.CompU 11), Plaintiffs allege that TrimBoard “is defective and fails to perform as intended because it prematurely deteriorates, rots, swells, buckles, splits, checks, cracks, delaminates, absorbs water, w[ar]ps, and/or bulges under normal conditions and exposure; causes consequential water and structural damage; and promotes the growth of health-threatening mold, mildew, fungi, termites and other insects in the structures on which it is installed.” (Am. Comply 14.) Plaintiffs further allege that Defendants’ failure to label TrimBoard with any serial number or stamp to identify the manufacturer, combined with their knowledge that most end-users will not buy Trim-Board directly from them, constitutes an attempt to avoid warranty claims. (Am. Compile 19-20.) Plaintiffs thus bring this [115]*115action against Defendants, asserting the following causes of action: (1) breach of express warranty; and (2) breach of implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for particular purpose. (Am.Compl.lffl 30-39.)

Based on these allegations, Plaintiffs filed a motion for class certification, asking the court to certify the class of

all persons, firms, corporations, and other entities who own homes, apartments, condominiums, buildings and other structures in the State of South Carolina within the [Federal Emergency Management Agency’s] “Designated Hurricane-Susceptible Region,” excluding Charleston County, South Carolina, on which Defendants’ TrimBoard product is installed, excluding any structure owned by any federal, state or local government, and any structures owned by Defendants or any of their subsidiaries, affiliates or employees.

(Mem. in Supp. at 7.) Plaintiffs seek a class designation as an opt-out class.

ANALYSIS

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a) provides that one or more members of a class may sue as representative parties on behalf of all only if “(1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class, (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class, and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.” Every class action must satisfy the four requirements of Rule 23(a): numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation, with “the final three requirements of [the rule] ‘tending] to merge,’ [so that] commonality and typicality ‘[serve] as guideposts for determining whether ... maintenance of a class action is economical and whether the named plaintiffs claim and the class claims are so interrelated that the interests of the class members will be fairly and adequately protected in their absence.’ ” Brown v. Nucor Corp., 576 F.3d 149, 152 (4th Cir.2009) (quoting Broussard v. Meineke Disc. Muffler Shops, Inc., 155 F.3d 331, 337 (4th Cir.1998) and Gen. Tel. Co. of the Southwest v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147,157, n. 13, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982)).

In addition to satisfying the conditions enumerated in Rule 23(a), Plaintiffs must also demonstrate that the putative class satisfies one of the three sub-parts of Rule 23(b). In this case, Plaintiffs invoke subsection (b)(3), which permits a class action if

the court finds that the questions of law or fact common to the members of the class predominate over any questions affecting only individual members, and that a class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy. The matters pertinent to the findings include: (A) the interest of members of the class in individually controlling the prosecution or defense of separate actions; (B) the extent and nature of any litigation concerning the controversy already commenced by or against members of the class; (C) the desirability or undesirability of concentrating the litigation of the claims in the particular forum; (D) the difficulties likely to be encountered in the management of a class action.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3). Plaintiffs carry the burden of establishing each of these requirements for a class action. See, e.g., Thorn v. Jefferson-Pilot Life Ins. Co., 445 F.3d 311, 321 (4th Cir.2006) (“[I]t is the plaintiff who bears the burden of showing that the class does comply with Rule 23.”) (emphasis in original). At this stage, the class representatives need not establish its case on the merits; Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 177-78, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974); Stastny v. Southern Bell Tel. & Tel. Co., 628 F.2d 267, 275 (4th Cir.1980), nevertheless, some preliminary inquiry into the merits may be necessary for an intelligent determination of whether to certify the class. See Shelton v. Pargo, Inc., 582 F.2d 1298, 1312-13 (4th Cir.1978). Questions regarding the certification of a class action are left to the sound discretion of the district court, and any such decision by the court will only be reversed upon a showing of abuse of that discretion. Stott v. Haworth, 916 F.2d 134, 139 (4th Cir.1990).

[116]*116A. Numerosity of the Parties

Plaintiffs must first demonstrate that the purported class is so large that joinder of all members is impracticable. Fed.R.Civ.P.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
266 F.R.D. 112, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10779, 2010 WL 503099, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brunson-v-louisiana-pacific-corp-scd-2010.