Crepeau v. Rite Aid Inc.

71 Pa. D. & C.4th 449
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County
DecidedMay 3, 2005
Docketno. 1278
StatusPublished

This text of 71 Pa. D. & C.4th 449 (Crepeau v. Rite Aid Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crepeau v. Rite Aid Inc., 71 Pa. D. & C.4th 449 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005).

Opinion

BERNSTEIN, J,

Presently before this court is plaintiff’s motion for class certification arising from plaintiff’s purchase of alleged “counterfeit” Lipitor, a cholesterol reducing drug, from a Rite Aid pharmacy. Plaintiff filed a class action complaint on September 9, 2003. Plaintiff alleges two causes of action, breach of express warranty and unjust enrichment.

FINDINGS OF FACT

(1) Lipitor is a cholesterol reducing drug.

[451]*451(2) Beginning in March of 2003, Rite Aid began purchasing their supply of Lipitor, from H.D. Smith, an authorized distributor of the drug.

(3) The term “authorized distributor” entitles the distributor to purchase drugs directly from the manufacturer. Lipitor is manufactured by Pfizer, Inc.

(4) On May 23, 2003, H.D. Smith sent a letter to Rite Aid informing them that a portion of the Lipitor that Rite Aid had purchased may be counterfeit. H.D. Smith suggested that a recall of all Lipitor which Rite Aid had purchased from April 22,2003 to May 23,2003, ought to be instituted. At that time, a substantial quantity of Lipitor received from H.D. Smith had already been sold to the public through Rite Aid pharmacies.

(5) During this time period, 330,000 customers had purchased Lipitor at Rite Aid pharmacies. Each one of the 330,000 customers was sent a recall notice instructing them to return all remaining Lipitor pills to their local Rite Aid pharmacy so that their pills could be exchanged for new Lipitor at no extra charge.

(6) Not more than 20 percent of the 10 mg tablet Lipitor, and not more than 6 percent of the 20 mg tablets, sold during the recall period were counterfeit.

(7) It is impossible to determine which of the 330,000 individuals who purchased the Lipitor from Rite Aid received any counterfeit pills.

(8) On April 29, 2003, named plaintiff, Christopher Crepeau purchased 20-milligram Lipitor from a Rite Aid pharmacy in Michigan.

[452]*452(9) Mr. Crepeau had finished his entire prescription before he received the recall notice and was therefore unable to exchange any pills.

(10) There is no proof that any medication Mr. Crepeau took was counterfeit Lipitor.

(11) It is impossible to prove whether any individual who purchased Lipitor from Rite Aid Pharmacies in 2003 received counterfeit Lipitor.

(12) No one who purchased Lipitor from Rite Aid during 2003 suffered any known adverse effects.

(13) Plaintiff has defined the proposed class as “all residents of the United States except Louisiana who purchased counterfeit Lipitor tablets from Rite Aid in the year 2003, and who did not manifest physical injuries as a result of ingesting these tablets.”

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

(1) To prevail on a claim for breach of warranty under the Pennsylvania Uniform Commercial Code, a plaintiff must establish, by a preponderance of the evidence that a breach of warranty occurred and that the breach was the proximate cause of the specific damages sustained. Price v. Chevrolet Motor Division of GMC, 765 A.2d 800, 810 (Pa. Super. 2000).

(2) In Pennsylvania, “To recover based on unjust enrichment, there must be... (1) an enrichment and (2) an injustice if the unenriched party does not recover for that enrichment. See Chesney v. Stevens, 435 Pa. Super. 71, 77 n.4, 644 A.2d 1240, 1243 n.4 (1994). ‘The most significant requirement for recovery is that the enrichment [453]*453of the defendant is unjust.’ Id.” Cambria-Stoltz Enterprises v. TNT Investments, 747 A.2d 947, 953 (Pa. Super. 2000).

(3) Plaintiff bears the burden of proving those contentions which entitle him to relief.

(4) There can be no compensation to individuals who have not proven any loss.

DISCUSSION

The sole issue before this court is whether the prerequisites for certification as stated in Pa.R.C.P. 1702 are satisfied. The purpose behind a class action lawsuit is “to provide a means by which the claims of many individuals could be resolved at one time, thereby eliminating the possibility of repetitious litigation and providing small claimants with a method to seek compensation for claims that would otherwise be too small to litigate.” DiLucido v. Terminix International Inc., 450 Pa. Super. 393, 397, 676 A.2d 1237, 1239 (1996). For a suit to proceed as a class action, Rule 1702 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure requires that five criteria be met:

“(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;

“(4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately assert and protect the interests of the class under the criteria set forth in Rule 1709;

[454]*454“(5) a class action provides a fair and efficient method for adjudication of the controversy under the criteria set forth in Rule 1708.”

Rule 1708 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure requires:

“In determining whether a class action is a fair and efficient method of adjudicating the controversy, the court shall consider among other matters the criteria set forth [below]:

“(a) Where monetary recovery alone is sought, the court shall consider

“(1) whether common questions of law or fact predominate over any question affecting only individual members;

“(2) the size of the class and the difficulties likely to be encountered in the management of the action as a class action;

“(3) whether the prosecution of separate actions by or against individual members of the class would create a risk of

“(i) inconsistent or varying adjudications with respect to individual members of the class which would confront the party opposing the class with incompatible standards of conduct;

“(ii) adjudications with respect to individual members of the class which would as a practical matter be dis-positive of the interests of other members not parties to the adjudications, or substantially impair or impede their ability to protect their interests;

[455]*455“(4) the extent and nature of any litigation, already commenced by or against members of the class involving any of the same issues;

“(5) whether the particular forum is appropriate for the litigation of the claims of the entire class;

“(6) whether in view of the complexities of the issues or the expenses of litigation the separate claims of individual class members are insufficient in amount to support separate actions;

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71 Pa. D. & C.4th 449, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crepeau-v-rite-aid-inc-pactcomplphilad-2005.