Dufour v. Be LLC

291 F.R.D. 413, 2013 WL 2180931, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71329
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMay 20, 2013
DocketNo. C 09-3770 CRB
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 291 F.R.D. 413 (Dufour v. Be LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dufour v. Be LLC, 291 F.R.D. 413, 2013 WL 2180931, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71329 (N.D. Cal. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

CHARLES R. BREYER, District Judge.

Plaintiffs in this contract case, parties to form contracts with a defunct talent agency, Be., LLC (“Be”),1 move for class certification. See dkt. 187. The Court GRANTS the motion in part and DENIES it in part.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs say that Be, using a manipulative sales pitch designed to convince parents that their children displayed uncommon potential to succeed in the entertainment industry, entered into form contracts with Plaintiffs for talent-related training and services. According to Plaintiffs, Be actually selected children based not on their demonstrated acting potential, but on their families’ ability to pay Be’s fees. SAC (dkt. 128) ¶¶ 16-20; DeSando Decl. (dkt. 187-1) ¶¶4-22. And, the contracts failed to include certain terms required by California’s Advance Fee Talent Services Act, Cal. Labor Code § 1701.1, et seq.,2 rendering them “voidable at the election of the artist.” Id. § 1701.4(d).

Be’s business suffered, and it eventually stopped providing services some time in early- or mid-2009. SAC ¶¶ 107-115. Be’s insolvency makes it an impractical target for Plaintiffs, and so this litigation has proceeded based on theories of liability directed not at Be, but at Monterey Financial Services (“Monterey”), a company that worked with Be.

Plaintiffs say that Monterey functioned— initially — as a finance company and debt col[416]*416lector for Be. Monterey loaned “significant sums of money” to Be in exchange for Be assigning its accounts receivable to Monte-rey; and, for Be customers that could not afford to pay Be’s fees in cash, Monterey supplied Be with financing contracts obligating the customers to pay Monterey over time for Be’s services. SAC ¶¶ 19, 94. Under that arrangement, Be “transmit[ted] its clients’ contracts to Monterey immediately after they were signed.” DeSando Deel. ¶ 26.

Monterey also marketed itself, and served as, a debt collector for Be’s accounts. SAC ¶ 95; DeSando Deck ¶ 27. Monterey and Be “collaborated extensively on collection of unpaid balances from Be members,” and Mon-terey “used continuing access to Be’s services and ‘discounts’ as leverage to collect.” SAC ¶ 102. If Monterey was not paid, it “would have Be tell supposedly independent service providers ... to bar that Be member from further classes until Monterey was paid.” Id.

Plaintiffs say that as a result of Monterey’s close working relationship with Be, Monterey was aware that Be’s operations violated the AFTSA.3 Complaints mentioning Be’s AFT-SA violations made their way to Monterey through the Better Business Bureau, Id. ¶ 97, and some Be customers complained directly to Monterey about Be’s AFTSA violations when Monterey attempted to collect money on unpaid balances. Id. ¶ 100. Also, some internal discussion of Be’s AFTSA violations was forwarded to Monterey around May 2008. Id. ¶ 98. Plaintiffs also allege that Be learned about the violations “in the course of conducting due diligence on its agreement with Be.” Id. ¶ 99.

According to Plaintiffs, as Be’s financial condition deteriorated, Monterey took on a more active role in Be’s operations. See SAC ¶¶ 109-111. When Monterey learned that Be was failing, Monterey “took corrective action” by “demanding] that Be resume ‘servicing’ its members, so that Monterey could continue to collect money from Be members to recoup its loans to Be.” Id. ¶ 110. And, when Be’s credit card processor discontinued its relationship with Be around December 2008, “Monterey became much more involved in Be’s business operations.” DeSando Deck ¶ 28. Indeed, Plaintiffs go so far as to allege that Monterey “came to control Be.” SAC ¶ 151.

Plaintiffs filed suit in August 2009. This Court granted a preliminary injunction imposing a constructive trust on money paid by Plaintiffs to Be under their contracts, see dkt. 26, and several motions to dismiss and amendments to the complaint followed, narrowing the claims and parties in the case. See dkts. 44, 93, 134. The case was delayed for almost a year while the parties arbitrated the claims of Plaintiff Tanner. See dkts. 158, 162. Plaintiffs Timothy and Jeanne DuFour now move for class certification. Dkt. 187.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Plaintiffs bear the burden of proving that certification is appropriate. See Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, — U.S. —, 131 S.Ct. 2541, 2551, 180 L.Ed.2d 374 (2011). Rule 23 “does not set forth a mere pleading standard.” Id. Rather, the “party seeking class certification must affirmatively demonstrate his compliance with the Rule— that is, he must be prepared to prove that there are in fact sufficiently numerous parties, common questions of law or fact, etc.” Id. District courts are to rigorously analyze whether Rule 23 has been satisfied. Mazza v. Am. Honda Motor Corp., 666 F.3d 581, 599 (9th Cir.2012).

“In formulating this judgment, the Court may properly consider both the allegations of the class action complaint and the supplemental evidentiary submissions of the parties.” In re Citric Acid Antitrust Litig., No. 95-1092, C-95-2963, 1996 WL 655791, at *2 (N.D.Cal. Oct. 2, 1996) (citing Blackie v. Barrack, 524 F.2d 891, 900-01 & n. 17 (9th Cir.1975)). A court’s “rigorous analysis” on class certification will frequently “entail some overlap with the merits of the plaintiffs underlying claim.” Dukes, 131 S.Ct. at 2551.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 establishes a two-step procedure for analyzing [417]*417class certification. Initially, the following four requirements of Rule 23(a) must be satisfied: (1) numerosity, (2) common questions of law or fact, (3) typicality, and (4) adequate representation. Once those four requirements are met, plaintiffs must show that the lawsuit qualifies for class action status under Rule 23(b).

The class must be so numerous that join-der of all members individually would be impracticable. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a) (1); Staton v. Boeing, 327 F.3d 938, 953 (9th Cir.2003). “Although there is no exact number, some courts have held that numerosity may be presumed when the class comprises forty or more members.” See Krzesniak v. Cendant Corp., No. 05-05156, 2007 WL 1795703, at *7 (N.D.Cal. June 20, 2007).

Second, the requirement of commonality demands that there be “questions of law or fact common to the class.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(2). A “single significant question of law or fact” is sufficient. Mazza, 666 F.3d at 589. “What matters to class certification ... is not the raising of common ‘questions’— even in droves — but, rather the capacity of a elasswide proceeding to generate common answers apt to drive the resolution of the litigation.

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Bluebook (online)
291 F.R.D. 413, 2013 WL 2180931, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71329, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dufour-v-be-llc-cand-2013.