Collier v. Montgomery County Housing Authority

192 F.R.D. 176, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8457, 2000 WL 433058
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 20, 2000
DocketNo. CIV. A. 97-5286
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 192 F.R.D. 176 (Collier v. Montgomery County Housing Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Collier v. Montgomery County Housing Authority, 192 F.R.D. 176, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8457, 2000 WL 433058 (E.D. Pa. 2000).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

EDUARDO C. ROBRENO, District Judge.

This is an action brought by named plaintiff Latanya Collier, individually as a parent and guardian of Jarrett Dykes, an infant, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated (“plaintiff’), alleging that defendant Montgomery County Housing Authority (“MCHA”) failed to follow statutory and regulatory requirements relating to lead-based paint in public housing pursuant to the United States Housing Act of 1937 (the “Housing Act”), 42 U.S.C. § 1437 et seq., and the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act (the “Lead Act”)1, 42 U.S.C. § 4801 et seq. The parties have reached an amicable settlement of this case and now seek the court’s preliminary approval of the proposed class action and settlement and approval of the proposed notice to -the putative class members. Having conducted two hearings on this matter and upon review of the parties’ submissions and the relevant authorities, the court grants conditional approval to the proposed class, class representative, and class settlement.

1. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff claims that MCHA has failed to implement and comply with various federal laws regarding lead-based paint. Specifically, plaintiff alleges that MCHA is required, pursuant to federal law, to periodically inspect properties qualifying for MCHA’s Section 8 Existing Housing Assistance Payments Program (“Section 8”) to determine that those properties meet certain standards for decent, safe, and sanitary housing as established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). Plaintiff also claims, inter alia, that MCHA is obligated to verify that a Section 8 rental property that fails to meet HUD’s standards is promptly repaired before a tenant moves into the unit or before the landlord is provided with any federal financial housing assistance.

Notwithstanding these federal laws and regulations, plaintiff contends that MCHA failed to ensure that the Section 8 rental property in which she and her minor child reside, and the properties of others similarly situated,2 met HUD’s standards. In sum, plaintiff maintains that MCHA failed to inspect for lead paint in Section 8 rental properties, failed to enforce lead paint abatement in Section 8 rental properties, failed to notify [181]*181Section 8 families having minor children that the properties may contain lead-based paint, and failed to educate these families as to the symptoms of lead poisoning and the precautions that are available. Plaintiff sought declaratory and injunctive relief.

After being advised that the parties had reached a settlement, this court held two hearings on the parties’ motion for preliminary approval of the proposed settlement agreement. See Tr. 10/4/99 and Tr. 1/3/00. The parties have now submitted a revised proposed settlement agreement and proposed notice of settlement in accordance with the court’s instructions at those hearings.3 For the reasons explained below, the court, at this time, will conditionally certify plaintiffs proposed class pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2).

II. DISCUSSION

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c)(1), the court can make a conditional determination of whether an action should be maintained as a class action, subject to final approval at a later date.4 See, e.g., Lusardi v. Xerox Corp., 747 F.2d 174, 177 (3d Cir.1984). To be maintained as a class action, a plaintiff must establish the four prerequisites of numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation.5 See Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a); Baby Neal for and by Kanter v. Casey, 43 F.3d 48, 55 (3d Cir.1994) (citing Wetzel v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 508 F.2d 239, 246 (3d Cir.1975)). Furthermore, the claim must be maintainable under one or more of the three subsections of Rule 23(b). See Baby Neal, 43 F.3d at 55-56. For purposes of settlement only, the parties contend that section 23(b)(2)6 is applicable to this lawsuit because MCHA has allegedly acted on grounds generally applicable to the entire class.7

A. Requirements of Rule 28(a)
1. Numerosity

As proposed by the parties in the settlement agreement, the class is composed [182]*182of all persons who are tenants of Section 8 properties and who have a minor under the age of 6 residing with them or who are such a minor. See Settlement Agreement ¶ I.A.2. As estimated by counsel for plaintiff at the hearing on January 3, 2000, the total class consists of approximately 1800 families. See 1/3/00 Tr. at 11, 30.

“[T]he exact size of [a] class need not be known so long as it can be shown that it is sufficiently large to meet the numerosity requirements.” See Hurt v. Philadelphia Housing Auth., 151 F.R.D. 555, 559 (E.D.Pa. 1993); see also Moskowitz v. Lopp, 128 F.R.D. 624, 628 (E.D.Pa.1989); In re Three Mile Island Litig., 95 F.R.D. 164, 165 (M.D.Pa.1982). In the instant case, the court concludes that although the exact number of members is not yet known, it is likely that the number of members would make joinder impracticable.8 Cf. Manning v. Princeton Consumer Discount Co., 533 F.2d 102, 104 (3d Cir.1976) (affirming determination that numerosity was not shown where plaintiff failed to show conduct complained of was industry-wide).

2. Commonality

“Rule 23(a)(2) does not require that all issues in the litigation be common, only that common questions exist. Indeed, a single common question is sufficient ....” In re Asbestos School Litig., 104 F.R.D. 422, 429 (E.D.Pa.1984) (citations omitted), amended by, 107 F.R.D. 215 (E.D.Pa.1985), aff'd in part and vacated in part, 789 F.2d 996 (3rd Cir.1986); see also Baby Neal, 43 F.3d at 56 (“The commonality requirement will be satisfied if the named plaintiffs share at least one question of fact or law with the grievances of the prospective class____ [C]lass members can assert such a single common complaint even if they have not all suffered actual injury; demonstrating that all class members are subject to the same harm will suffice.”); Weiss v. York Hosp., 745 F.2d 786, 809 (3d Cir.1984) (finding that “not all questions of law or fact raised need be in common”). Thus, “[b]ecause the requirement may be satisfied by a single common issue, it is easily met .... ” Baby Neal, 43 F.3d at 56 (citing Herbert B. Newberg & Alba Conte, 1 NEWBERG ON CLASS ACTIONS, § 3.19, at 3-50 (3d ed.1992)).

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Bluebook (online)
192 F.R.D. 176, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8457, 2000 WL 433058, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/collier-v-montgomery-county-housing-authority-paed-2000.