Hernandez v. Medows

209 F.R.D. 665, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17843, 2002 WL 31060425
District Court, S.D. Florida·Decided August 26, 2002·No. No. 02-20964-CIV·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

ORDER ON MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

GOLD, District Judge.

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2) [D.E. #6]. Plaintiffs seek to certify a class defined as:

All current and future Florida Medicaid recipients who have, or will have them prescription drug coverage denied, delayed, terminated, or reduced without ade[667] quate notice and the opportunity for a fair hearing.

Following class discovery and the submission of memoranda, oral argument on class certification was held on July 26, 2002. After considering the matter, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification under Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2) should be granted in part in favor of the individual named Plaintiffs but denied as to the Florida Transplant Survivors Coalition. The Court’s reasons and analysis are set forth below.

A. CLASS CERTIFICATION STANDARD

The district court has broad discretion in determining whether to certify a class. Heaven v. Trust Co. Bank, 118 F.3d 735, 737 (11th Cir.1997). A class certification order, however, is not a final order and may be reviewed by the district judge “at any time” so that the district court may “redefine[ ] or more narrowly tailor[] classes or subclasses.” Shin v. Cobb County Board of Education, 248 F.3d 1061, 1065 (11th Cir.2001).

To qualify as a class under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Plaintiffs must initially satisfy the four thresholds requirements of Rule 23(a): (1) the class must be so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable (numerosity); (2) questions of law or fact common to the class must exist (commonality); (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties must be typical of the claims or defenses of the class (typicality); and (4) the representative parties must fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class (adequacy of representation). Plaintiffs seeking to represent the class bear the burden of establishing that all four requirements have been met. Kirkpatrick v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 827 F.2d 718; 721 n. 2 (11th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 485 U.S. 959, 108 S.Ct. 1221, 99 L.Ed.2d 421 (1988); Gilchrist v. Bolger, 733 F.2d 1551, 1555 (11th Cir.1984) (A class action may only be certified “if the Court is satisfied, after a rigorous analysis, that the prerequisites of Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a) are met”). These prerequisites are mandatory and the failure to establish any one is fatal to a motion for class action certification.

In addition to meeting the four preliminary requirements in subdivision (a), the plaintiffs also must satisfy one of the subsections of Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b) in order to certify a class. In the instant case, the Lead Plaintiffs seek class certification under Rule 23(b)(2). Rule 23(b)(2) applies where the parties “opposing the class hafye] acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class, thereby making appropriate final injunctive or corresponding declaratory relief with respect to the class as a whole.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2). Rule 23(b)(2) was intended “primarily to facilitate civil rights class actions, where the class representatives typically sought broad injunctive or declaratory relief against discriminatory practices.” Penson v. Terminal Transport Co., Inc., 634 F.2d 989, 993 (5th Cir.1981) (citing Advisory Committee Notes, 39 F.R.D. 98, 102 (1966)).1

Moreover, prior to a determination regarding whéther a class should be certified pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23, a district court “must determine that at least one named class representative has Article III standing to raise each class claim. ‘Any analysis of class certification must begin with the issue of standing.’ ” Prado-Steiman v. Bush, 221 F.3d 1266, 1279-80 (11th Cir.2000) (quoting Griffin v. Dugger, 823 F.2d 1476, 1482 (11th Cir.1987)).

B. STANDING

1. Individual Standing

It is well-established that “prior to the certification of a class, and technically speaking before undertaking any formal typicality or commonality review, the district court must determine that at least one named class representative has Article III standing to raise each class claim, ‘[a]ny analysis of class certification must begin with the issue of standing’ ” Prado-Steiman, 221 F.3d at 1279-80 (quoting Griffin v. Dugger, 823 F.2d 1476,1482 (11th Cir.1987)). It is only “ ‘after the court determines the issues for which the named plaintiffs have standing [that] it [668] should address the question whether the named plaintiffs have representative capacity, as defined by Rule 23(a), to assert the rights of others.’ ” Id.

The burden is on the Plaintiffs to clearly “allege facts demonstrating that he is a proper party with standing to invoke judicial resolution of a dispute.” Anderson v. City of Alpharetta, 770 F.2d 1575, 1582 (11th Cir. 1985). “It is not the role of the court to speculate concerning the existence of standing nor to piece together support for the plaintiff.” Id.

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Hernandez v. Medows, 209 F.R.D. 665, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17843, 2002 WL 31060425 (S.D. Fla. 2002).

209 F.R.D. 665 (Hernandez v. Medows) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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