Display South, Inc. v. GRAPHICS HOUSE SPORTS PRO., INC.

992 So. 2d 510, 2008 WL 2329929
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 6, 2008
Docket2007 CA 0925
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 992 So. 2d 510 (Display South, Inc. v. GRAPHICS HOUSE SPORTS PRO., INC.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Display South, Inc. v. GRAPHICS HOUSE SPORTS PRO., INC., 992 So. 2d 510, 2008 WL 2329929 (La. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

992 So.2d 510 (2008)

DISPLAY SOUTH, INC., Individually, and as Representative of the Class
v.
GRAPHICS HOUSE SPORTS PROMOTIONS, INC., d/b/a GH Imaging and GHImaging.com.

No. 2007 CA 0925.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

June 6, 2008.

*514 John P. Wolff, III, Nancy B. Gilbert, Christopher K. Jones, Keogh, Cox & Wilson, Ltd., and Philip Bohrer, Bohrer Law Firm, L.L.C., and Keith D. Jones, Baton Rouge, LA, for Plaintiff-Appellee, Display South, Inc.

Brent E. Kinchen, Eric M. Barrilleaux, Seale, Smith, Zuber & Barnette, Baton Rouge, LA, for Defendant-Appellant, Farm Bureau Mutual Ins. Co. of Michigan.

Kirk A. Patrick, III, Heather A. Cross, Donohue Patrick, PLLC, Baton Rouge, LA, for Defendant-Appellant, Graphics House Sports Promotions, Inc., d/b/a GH Imaging and GHImaging.com.

Before PARRO, KUHN, and DOWNING, JJ.

PARRO, J.

Graphics House Sports Promotions, Inc., d/b/a/ GH Imaging and GH Imaging.com (GH) and its insurer, Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Michigan (Farm Bureau), appeal a judgment certifying the class in this class action suit filed by Display South, Inc. (Display South), alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Display South filed a petition on its own behalf and for certification as the representative of a class consisting of all persons who received unsolicited telephone facsimile (fax) transmissions or advertisements from GH from March 12, 1999, to the present, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C.A. § 227, et seq. The original defendant was GH; Farm Bureau was added in a supplemental and amending petition.[1] The certification issue was tried and the class was certified in a January 3, 2007 judgment.[2] The class consists of:

All recipients within the State of Louisiana of unsolicited telefacsimile messages and/or advertisements which were transmitted and/or initiated by or on behalf of Graphics House Sports Promotions, Inc. d/b/a GH Imaging and GHImaging.com between the dates of March 12, 1999, and through the present, in violation of 47 U.S.C.[A.] § 227.

GH and Farm Bureau have appealed the certification of the class.[3]

*515 APPLICABLE LAW

The TCPA makes it a violation of federal law to use any telephone facsimile machine, computer, or other device to send an "unsolicited advertisement" to a telephone facsimile machine. See 47 U.S.C.A. § 227(b)(1)(C). An "unsolicited advertisement" is defined as "any material advertising the commercial availability or quality of any property, goods, or services which is transmitted to any person without that person's prior express invitation or permission, in writing or otherwise." 47 U.S.C.A. § 227(a)(5). Private citizens whose rights under the TCPA have been violated may sue to enjoin future transmissions, recover the greater of actual monetary damages or $500 in damages for each such fax, or obtain injunctive relief plus damages. See 47 U.S.C.A. § 227(b)(3). For willful or knowing violations of the TCPA, the court has discretion to increase the amount of the award to not more than three times the amount of damages specified above. See 47 U.S.C.A. § 227(b)(3).

The class action is a nontraditional litigation procedure permitting a representative with typical claims to sue, on behalf of a class of similarly situated persons, when the question is of common or general interest to persons so numerous as to make it impractical to bring them all before the court. The purpose of the procedure is to adjudicate and obtain res judicata effect on all common issues applicable not only to the representatives who bring the action, but to all others who are similarly situated, provided they are given adequate notice of the pending class action and do not timely exercise the option of exclusion from the class. Ford v. Murphy Oil U.S.A., Inc., 96-2913 (La.9/9/97), 703 So.2d 542, 544; Singleton v. Northfield Ins. Co., 01-0447 (La.App. 1st Cir.5/15/02), 826 So.2d 55, 61, writ denied, 02-1660 (La.9/30/02), 825 So.2d 1200.

Class actions in Louisiana are governed by LSA-C.C.P. arts. 591-597. Article 591 states the following prerequisites for maintaining a class action:

A. One or more members of a class may sue or be sued 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.
(4) The representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.
(5) The class is or may be defined objectively in terms of ascertainable criteria, such that the court may determine the constituency of the class for purposes of the conclusiveness of any judgment that may be rendered in the case.
B. An action may be maintained as a class action only if all of the prerequisites of Paragraph A of this Article are satisfied, and in addition:
(1) The prosecution of separate actions by or against individual members of the class would create a risk of:
(a) Inconsistent or varying adjudications with respect to individual members of the class which would establish incompatible standards of conduct for the party opposing the class, or
(b) Adjudications with respect to individual members of the class which would as a practical matter be dispositive of the interests of the other members not parties to the adjudications or substantially impair or impede their ability to protect their interests; or
(2) The party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class, thereby *516 making appropriate final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief with respect to the class as a whole; or
(3) 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 these findings include:
(a) The interest of the 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 in the particular forum;
(d) The difficulties likely to be encountered in the management of a class action;
(e) The practical ability of individual class members to pursue their claims without class certification;
(f) The extent to which the relief plausibly demanded on behalf of or against the class, including the vindication of such public policies or legal rights as may be implicated, justifies the costs and burdens of class litigation; or

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