Elster v. Alexander

76 F.R.D. 440
District Court, N.D. Georgia·Decided September 29, 1977·No. No. C75-1069A·Published·Cited by 18 cases

Opinion

ORDER OF COURT

MOYE, District Judge.

This is a motion for class certification under Fed.R.Civ.P. 23 in an action which alleges common law fraud and violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, sections 10, 14, 18 and 20,1 and Rules 10b-5 and 14a-92 promulgated thereunder. Plaintiff William Elster (Elster) purchased 25 shares of the stock of defendant TriSouth Mortgage Investors (TSMI) on June 29, 1973, and now seeks to represent the class of all persons who purchased such stock between January 1,1973, and September 30, 1974.

Defendant TSMI is a real estate investment trust whose principal activities include making short-term construction, development, and acquisition loans, intermediate loans on income properties, and long-term mortgage loans. Plaintiff’s complaint is based upon the allegation that defendants engaged in a continuous plan and conspiracy from January 1, 1972, to September 30, 1974, to conceal from the holders and purchasers of TSMI shares and the investing public, the true picture of its poor financial condition and operation, the true condition of the loans made by TSMI and extent to which those loans had defaulted. Plaintiff contends that defendants substituted for a gloomy reality, an inflated picture of TSMI earnings by circulating among the investing public certain false, fraudulent and misleading statements. The particular statements by defendants which plaintiffs challenge are: two prospectuses dated February 8, 1972, and February 6, 1973; seven quarterly reports from March 1973 to September 1974; and the 1973 annual report.

Plaintiff purchased 25 shares in TSMI on June 29, 1973, and by this motion filed pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3), he seeks to represent approximately 8,500 persons who purchased any of TSMI’s 2.2 million shares during the period from January 1, 1972 to September 30, 1973.

In order to maintain a class action, the burden is on the plaintiff to show that he has met the requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 23 which provides:

[442]*442(a) . . . (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, and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.
(b)(3) the court finds that the questions of law or fact common to the members of the class predominates 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

Typically, the most difficult hurdle for the party attempting to certify his class involves the issues of whether there are class-wide common questions of law or fact and whether those common questions predominate over any individual question. While securities fraud cases are often well suited to class action treatment, Green v. Wolf Corp., 406 F.2d 291, 295-296 (2d Cir. 1968), in the present action, plaintiff seeks recovery under several theories which present such diverse individual questions that they are inappropriate for class treatment.

Plaintiff’s allegations of common law fraud raise questions of fact and law under the law of each state in which the class member made a purchase. The complaint alleges that class members reside throughout the county. Considering the size of the potential class to be 8,500 members, it is likely that the claim for relief based upon common law fraud would involve the laws of all 50 states. With no single law governing the entire class, the allegation of common law fraud cannot be shown to warrant class treatment. See Simon v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith, Inc., 482 F.2d 880 (5th Cir. 1973); King v. Sharp, 63 F.R.D. 60 (N.D.Tex.1974); Adise v. Mather, 56 F.R.D. 492 (D.Col.1972).

Plaintiff also alleges violations of sections 18(a) and 14(a) of the Act. To test a claim under section 18(a), this Court will be confronted with questions of individual reliance. See Heit v. Weitzen, 402 F.2d 909, 916 (2d Cir. 1968), cert. denied, 395 U.S. 903, 89 S.Ct. 1740, 23 L.Ed.2d 217 (1969); Barotz v. Monarch General, Inc., CCH Fed.Sec.L. Rep. ¶ 94,933 (S.D.N.Y.1975), and the applicable statute of limitations as it is dependent on state law. Hudak v. Economic Research Analysts, Inc., 499 F.2d 996 (5th Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1122, 95 S.Ct. 805, 42 L.Ed.2d 821. Therefore, the Court concludes that claims under 14(a) and 18(a), like the common law claims, are inappropriate for treatment as class actions because they present substantial and predominate individual questions.

Primarily, plaintiff rests his request for class certification upon the claims which arise under section 10 of the Act and rule 10b-5. The amended complaint alleges that defendants engaged in a common course of action consisting of the issuance of a series of interrelated financial reports and statements made from January 1, 1972, to September 30, 1974. The principal theory of recovery under this section 10 claim is based on nondisclosure. Defendant argues that the same issue of individual reliance which precludes class treatment under sections 14 and 18 also precludes class treatment of the rule 10b-5 claim.

The degree of individual reliance which must be proven in a 10b-5 action is unsettled in the fifth circuit. Compare Affiliated UTE Citizens of Utah v. United States, 406 U.S. 128, 92 S.Ct. 1456, 31 L.Ed.2d 741 (1971), with Simon v. Merrill Lynch, supra. However, even if plaintiff’s view is correct and the 10b-5 allegations were otherwise proper for class treatment, Elster’s claim under 10b-5 would not be typical of all those in the proposed class. He bought his stock six months after the start of the class period, but 15 months before the end. In such a situation, plaintiff would have an interest in maximizing the significance of events that preceded his purchase while there would be no incentive to prove that [443]*443the violations continued after his purchase. It has been observed that a representative in such a position cannot represent those who purchased stock after the proposed representative did. Robinson v. Penn Central Co., 58 F.R.D. 436, 443 (S.D.N.Y.1973). Thus if this Court were to certify the class action with Elster as its sole representative, it would define the class only as those who purchased between January 1, 1973 and June 29, 1973.

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Elster v. Alexander, 76 F.R.D. 440 (N.D. Ga. 1977).

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