Cox v. Sherman Capital LLC

295 F.R.D. 207, 2013 WL 4051032, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111762
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedAugust 8, 2013
DocketNo. 1:12-cv-01654-TWP-MJD
StatusPublished

This text of 295 F.R.D. 207 (Cox v. Sherman Capital LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cox v. Sherman Capital LLC, 295 F.R.D. 207, 2013 WL 4051032, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111762 (S.D. Ind. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

TANYA WALTON PRATT, District Judge.

The Magistrate Judge submitted his Report and Recommendation on Plaintiffs Motion for Class Certification. The parties were afforded due opportunity pursuant to statute and the rules of this Court to file objections; none were filed. The Court, having considered the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation, hereby adopts the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation. Pursuant to Rule 23, any appeal to this Order must be filed with the circuit clerk within fourteen days after this Order’s date of entry.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

MARK J. DINSMORE, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Andrew Cox, Lucinda Cox, and Stephanie Snyder’s (“Plaintiffs”) Motion, on behalf of themselves and the Class, for Class Certification, filed on November 9, 2012. [Dkt. 5.] For the following reasons, the Magistrate Judge recommends that the district judge GRANT the motion and CERTIFY the subclasses.

I. Background

This suit alleges fraud, unjust enrichment, racketeering, and violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692. [Dkt. 77 at 1.] Plaintiffs filed their Complaint on November 9, 2012, and on the same day Plaintiffs also filed their Motion for Class Certification. [Dkts. 1, 5.] Plaintiffs did not file a brief in support of their Motion for Class Certification, but two pages in the Complaint were dedicated to a number of Class Action Alegations. [Dkt. 1 at 20-21.] In their Complaint, Plaintiffs allege that their action is brought on behalf both themselves as individuals and on behalf of three subclasses: (1) an FDCPA Subclass, (2) a Restitution Subclass, and (3) a RICO Subclass. [Id]

In response to Plaintiffs’ Complaint, on January 22, 2013, Defendants Sherman Capital LLC et al. (“Defendants”) filed a Motion to Dismiss alleging, in part, that Plaintiffs lack personal jurisdiction over all Defendants, other than LVNV Funding LLC (“LVNV”). [Dkt. 21.] Upon encountering difficulty in conducting the discovery necessary to respond to Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, the Plaintiffs filed, and the Court granted, two motions to compel answers from the six named Defendants during their depositions. [Dkts. JO, 55, 77, S&] The Court accordingly ordered that the depositions in question should proceed without further obstruction, though limited the scope of the depositions to the issue of personal jurisdiction only, as requested by the Defendants. [Dkts. 55, 91.] The depositions were finally completed by June 21, 2013 [dkt. 130-15], and on July 3, 2013 Plaintiffs filed their response to Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss. [Dkt. ISO.]

Meanwhile, on May 15, 2013, Defendants filed their Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification. [Dkt. 70.] In the midst of compelling the named Defendants to respond to certain lines of questioning during their depositions, Plaintiffs did not file, nor were they required to file, a reply brief. The Court now rules on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification with full knowledge that Plaintiffs’ access to certification discovery was restricted, in part, by the aforementioned discovery disputes.

II. Standard of Review

Pursuant to Rule 23, the named parties of a class of plaintiffs may sue on behalf of all the members of the class 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;
[211]*211(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.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a) (emphasis added). Additionally, the movants must also prove that (5) “the questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual members,” and (6) “a class action is superior to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3) (emphasis added); see Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 615-16, 117 S.Ct. 2231, 138 L.Ed.2d 689 (1997) (acknowledging that predominance and superiority are additional “criteria” of the class certification analysis); Messner v. Northshore Univ. HealthSystem, 669 F.3d 802, 811 (7th Cir. 2012) (noting that a proposed class must meet both the 23(a) requirements of numerosity, typicality commonality and adequacy and the 23(b) requirements of predominance and superiority in order to be certified).

The determination of whether to certify a putative class is within the broad discretion of the district court. Retired Chicago Police Ass’n v. City of Chicago, 7 F.3d 584, 596 (7th Cir.1993). While consideration of class certification is not “a dress rehearsal for trial on the merits,” the court “must receive evidence and resolve the disputes before deciding whether to certify the class.” Messner, 669 F.3d at 811 (quoting Szabo v. Bridgeport Machines, Inc., 249 F.3d 672, 676 (7th Cir.2001)); see also Livingston v. Associates Fin., Inc., 339 F.3d 553, 558 (7th Cir.2003) (“[c]lass certification requires a rigorous investigation into the propriety of proceeding as a class”) (emphasis added). Accordingly, any evidence that had been submitted to the court should be taken into consideration, such as any motions, briefs, pleadings, or exhibits. See id.; In re FedEx Ground Package Sys., Inc., Employment Practices Litig., 273 F.R.D. 424, 436 (N.D.Ind.2008) (“[t]he court looks beyond the pleadings to analyze the claims, defenses, relevant facts, and applicable substantive law that may be necessary to determine whether certification is appropriate”).

The burden of proof is on the named plaintiffs to show that a proposed class meets the Rule 23 requirements. Messner, 669 F.3d at 811. However, Rule 23 also mandates that a court determine whether to certify the proposed class “[a]t an early practicable time.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(c)(1)(A). The Seventh Circuit interprets this timing requirement to mean that “a judge should determine whether to grant or deny certification prior to ruling on the merits.” Chavez v. Illinois State Police, 251 F.3d 612, 630 (7th Cir.2001) (emphasis added).

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Bluebook (online)
295 F.R.D. 207, 2013 WL 4051032, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111762, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cox-v-sherman-capital-llc-insd-2013.