Gries v. Standard Ready Mix Concrete, L.L.C.

252 F.R.D. 479, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64558, 2008 WL 3992239
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Iowa
DecidedAugust 22, 2008
DocketNo. C07-4013-MWB
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 252 F.R.D. 479 (Gries v. Standard Ready Mix Concrete, L.L.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gries v. Standard Ready Mix Concrete, L.L.C., 252 F.R.D. 479, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64558, 2008 WL 3992239 (N.D. Iowa 2008).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CERTIFY CLASS

MARK W. BENNETT, District Judge.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 480

481 II. LEGAL ANALYSIS............................

481 A. Class Action Requirements Of Rule 23(a) ....

484 B. Numerosity...............................

484 1. The general requirement...............

485 2. Factors...............................

485 a. Size of class.......................

485 b. Geographical dispersion............

486 c. Identification of class members.....

486 d. Financial resources of class members

487 e. Judicial efficiency.................

III. CONCLUSION..................... 488

I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

On February 13, 2007, plaintiff Vernon Gries, individually and as representative of all persons similarly situated, filed a complaint in this court against defendants Standard Ready Mix Concrete, L.L.C., Standard Ready Mix Concrete Co., and Standard Ready Mix Concrete, L.L.C. Defined Pension Plan and Trust f/k/a Standard Ready Mix Concrete Co. Defined Benefit Pension Plan and Trust. Plaintiff Gries brought his action pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a), individually, and for all persons similarly situated, as participants and beneficiaries of Standard Ready Mix Concrete, L.L.C. Defined Pension Plan and Trust fik/a Standard Ready Mix Concrete Co. Defined Benefit Pension Plan and Trust (“the Plan”), a defined benefit pension plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”).

On December 20, 2007, plaintiff Gries filed an amended complaint in this case to join Sioux City Ready Mix Concrete Company, L.L.C. as a party defendant. In Count I of the amended complaint, Gries seeks a declaratory judgment that an amendment to Standard Ready Mix Concrete, L.L.C. Defined Pension Plan and Trust ffk/a Standard Ready Mix Concrete Co. Defined Benefit Pension Plan and Trust (“the Plan”), a defined benefit pension plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) made in 2002 is void ab initio because it purportedly violates various provisions of ERISA. In Count II, Gries seeks a declaratory judgment concerning accrued benefits owed to each member of the purported class under the Plan. In Count III, Gries seeks a declaratory judgment as to the amount of benefits currently due members of the purported class as a result of a modification made to the Plan on October 2, 2005 and a judgment for the amount of funds currently due class members.

Plaintiff Gries subsequently filed his Motion To Certify Class (Dkt.# 32) in which he seeks to have the court certify a class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3), described as follows:

[Tjhose active members, inactive members and beneficiaries of the Plan as of June 1, 2002, the date the Plan amendment at issue in this ease, and will include all other persons who became plan members or beneficiaries from June 1, 2002, to the present time.

[481]*481Plaintiffs Mot. to Certify Class at ¶ 6. Defendants have filed a resistance to plaintiff Gries’s motion in which they assert that the motion should be denied on the following grounds: that the motion is untimely under Local Rule 23.1; that the motion fails to comply with Local Rule 23.1 because it does not include a proposal for the appointment of class counsel; that the relief requested by plaintiff will be identical whether or not a class is certified in this matter and, therefore, no useful purpose would be served by permitting this matter to proceed as a class action; that the motion does not include a proposed class definition, a purported prerequisite to maintaining a class action; that plaintiff has failed to set forth facts and provide the court with the evidentiary support sufficient to satisfy the prerequisites for class certification pursuant to Local Rule 23. 1(a)(1) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a); and, that the plaintiff has failed to provide the court with the facts and evidence to satisfy the prerequisites for class certification pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b).

II. LEGAL ANALYSIS
A. Class Action Requirements Of Rule 23(a)

Rule 23(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil. Procedure identifies the prerequisites for a class action as follows:

(a) Prerequisites. One or more members of a class may sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf of all members 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; and
(4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)1; see generally Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Ass’n, Inc. v. New Prime, Inc., 339 F.3d 1001, 1011 (8th Cir.2003); Alpern v. UtiliCorp United, Inc., 84 F.3d 1525, 1539 (8th Cir.1996); see also Smilow v. Southwestern Bell Mobile Sys., Inc., 323 F.3d 32, 37 (1st Cir.2003); O’Sullivan v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 319 F.3d 732, 737 (5th Cir.2003); In re Veneman, 309 F.3d 789, 792 (D.C.Cir.2002); Uhl v. Thoroughbred Tech. & Telcomm., Inc., 309 F.3d 978, 985 (7th Cir.2002); Coleman v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., 296 F.3d 443, 446 (6th Cir.2002); Franze v. Equitable Assurance, 296 F.3d 1250, 1252 (11th Cir.2002); In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litig., 280 F.3d 124, 132-33 (2d Cir.2001), cert. denied, 536 U.S. 917, 122 S.Ct. 2382, 153 L.Ed.2d 201 (2002); Johnston v. HBO Film Mgt., Inc., 265 F.3d 178, 183 (3rd Cir.2001); In re Prudential Ins. Co. of America Sales Litig., 148 F.3d 283, 308-09 (3rd Cir.1998). These four prerequisites for class certification under Rule 23(a) are commonly referred to as “numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation.” General Telephone Co. v. E.E.O.C.,

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Bluebook (online)
252 F.R.D. 479, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64558, 2008 WL 3992239, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gries-v-standard-ready-mix-concrete-llc-iand-2008.