Corder v. Ford Motor Co.

283 F.R.D. 337, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103534, 2012 WL 3045687
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Corder v. Ford Motor Co.. Read the opinion of the Court — 869 F. Supp. 2d 835
District Court, W.D. Kentucky·Decided July 25, 2012·No. Civil Action No. 3:05-CV-00016·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CHARLES R. SIMPSON III, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on the plaintiffs second motion for class certification (DN 218). The defendant has responded (DN 228) and the plaintiff has replied (DN 232); thus, the matter is ripe for adjudication. For the reasons set forth herein, the plaintiffs second motion for class certification will be denied.

I.

To make a meaningful determination of the certification issues, a court must understand the claims, defenses, relevant facts, and applicable substantive law. See Madison v. Chalmette Refining, LLC, 637 F.3d 551, 555 (5th Cir.2011); Reeb v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Corr., 435 F.3d 639, 644-645 (6th Cir.2006). With that in mind, we present the following summary of the factual allegations made by plaintiff Kenneth E. Corder, Sr., as well as defendant Ford Motor Company’s view of the relevant facts in this case. A summary of the procedural history of the case follows.

A. Corder’s Allegations and Ford’s Responses

Corder brought this action against Ford for allegedly violating the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act (“KCPA”). Corder alleges that the 6.0L Power Stroke diesel engines installed by Ford in model year 2003 F-Series Super Duty Trucks and Excursions were highly problematic. Corder claims that those engines, which he deems the “2003 engines,” were “renowned for a host of serious problems,” leading Ford to implement a customer service program for those vehicles and even to recall and buy back some vehicles installed with those engines (Second Amended Complaint, DN 215 ¶ 14). Corder alleges that many consumers waited until the 2004 model year to purchase F-Series Super Duty Trucks or Excursions, believing that Ford would make improvements to the “2003 engines” (Id.). However, Corder claims, Ford continued to install “2003 engines” in model year 2004 Super Duty Trucks and Excursions that were assembled in July, August, and September of 2003 (Id. ¶ 15). Then, in October 2003, Ford “orchestrated a coordinated change” with its engine manufacturer “to implement changes and improvements” in the 6.0L Power Stroke diesel engine for the remainder of the 2004 model year (Id. ¶ 16).

In May of 2004, Corder purchased a model year 2004 Ford F-250 Super Duty Truck with a 6.0L Power Stroke diesel engine (Second Amended Complaint, DN 215 ¶ 19). Shortly thereafter, Corder claims, he found out that the engine in his truck was a “2003 engine” that did not have the improvements that were in the “2004 engine” (Id.). According to Corder, Ford’s non-disclosure that it had installed a “2003 engine” in his model year 2004 truck was an unfair, false, misleading, or deceptive act within the meaning of the KCPA, and it caused him to suffer an ascertainable loss (Id. ¶¶ 21, 32).

Ford, for its part, takes issue with Cord-er’s claim that its engines have model years. Ford claims, in effect, that it makes running changes to its engines throughout the year (see DN 228 at 5-10). Thus, Ford argues that the purchasers of 2004 model year trucks built prior to October of 2003 received [339]*339multiple different engines, and “all of those engines were improved over most engines installed on most 2003 vehicles” (Id. at 1-2, 6). Ford further claims that “in the months and days before and after October 1, 2003,” it was making “constant quality improvements” to the engines (Id. at 2, 5-7, 9-10). Ford takes the position that October 1, 2003 was simply a date on which it made additional changes to the engines that brought them up to 2004 emissions standards (Id. at 2, 8).

B. Procedural History

Following initial discovery, Ford moved for summary judgment. This court granted the motion, finding that Corder had not shown that Ford’s actions were false, misleading, or deceptive within the meaning of the KCPA, nor had Corder shown that he suffered an “ascertainable loss,” as is required to maintain a private action under the KCPA. The Sixth Circuit disagreed with this court’s disposition, holding that a reasonable jury could find that Ford’s actions were deceptive and that Corder suffered an ascertainable loss when he received an engine that was not the same as the one a reasonable consumer would have expected. See Corder v. Ford Motor Co., 285 Fed.Appx. 226 (6th Cir.2008).

Upon remand to this court, Corder filed a motion to certify a national class, which he defined as:

All persons who were original purchasers of 2004 model year Ford F-Series Super Duty Trucks and Excursions which Ford Motor Company manufactured and installed with 6.0L “Power Stroke” diesel engines before October 1, 2003. To be excluded from the Class are the judges to whom this ease is assigned and their staff.

However, this court denied Corder’s motion, finding that a national class was not viable because the laws of each of the states in which the putative class members purchased their vehicles would have to be applied, which would lead to significant problems of individualized proof and manageability. This court identified state laws that required proof of reliance as posing particular problems, since the element of reliance would require an individualized inquiry into the state of mind of each consumer.

This court then granted Corder leave to file a second amended complaint, in which he sought to represent a class of only Kentucky residents, which he defined as follows:

All Kentucky residents who were original purchasers of 2004 model year Ford F-Series Super Duty Trucks or Excursions which Ford Motor Company manufactured and installed with 6.0L “Power Stroke” diesel engines before October 1, 2003. To be excluded from the Class are the judges to whom this case is assigned and their staff.

The second amended complaint stated that there were at least 586 members of the class, whose identities and addresses can be readily ascertained from Ford’s records.

Ford moved to dismiss Corder’s second amended complaint. Ford contended that the KCPA required proof of reliance, but Corder did not plead in the second amended complaint that he had relied on Ford’s deceptive act. This court denied Ford’s motion to dismiss, finding that the KCPA did not require proof of reliance.

Meanwhile, after filing his second amended complaint, Corder filed a second motion for class certification, seeking to certify the class of Kentucky residents in his second amended complaint. Having denied Ford’s motion to dismiss, this court now turns to Corder’s second motion for class certification.

II.

The party seeking certification of a class action bears the burden of showing that a class action is appropriate. In re Amer. Med. Sys., Inc., 75 F.3d 1069, 1079 (6th Cir.1996). A district court considering a motion for class certification must conduct a “rigorous analysis” into whether the requirements of Rule 23

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Corder v. Ford Motor Co., 283 F.R.D. 337, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103534, 2012 WL 3045687 (W.D. Ky. 2012).

283 F.R.D. 337 (Corder v. Ford Motor Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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