In re Bexar County Health Facility Development Corp. Securities Litigation

125 F.R.D. 625, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5969, 1989 WL 61827
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 31, 1989
DocketMDL No. 768
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 125 F.R.D. 625 (In re Bexar County Health Facility Development Corp. Securities Litigation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Bexar County Health Facility Development Corp. Securities Litigation, 125 F.R.D. 625, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5969, 1989 WL 61827 (E.D. Pa. 1989).

Opinion

[626]*626MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

BECHTLE, District Judge.

Presently before the court is plaintiff’s motion for class certification pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a) and (b)(3). For the reasons stated herein, plaintiff’s motion is granted in part, and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff brings this action for damages and injunctive relief for alleged fraud arising out of the sale of the Bexar County Health Facilities Development Corporation First Mortgage Revenue Bonds (Trinity Retirement Living Foundation Project) Series 1984 (hereinafter the "Trinity bonds” or [627]*627the “bonds”). Plaintiff seeks certification of a class consisting of:

All persons who were original purchasers of the Bexar County Health Facilities Development Corporation First Mortgage Revenue Bonds (Trinity Retirement Living Foundation Project) Series 1984, excluding only the defendants.

Twenty-seven million dollars ($27,000,000) worth of principal was issued to between 1,000 and 2,000 purchasers with minimum purchases of five thousand dollars ($5,000).

The bonds were issued by the Bexar County Health Facilities Development Corporation, a Texas corporation, pursuant to an Official Offering Statement dated November 14, 1984. Proceeds from the sale of the bonds were loaned to the Trinity Retirement Living Foundation, a non-profit Texas corporation, to finance construction of a 162 unit residential retirement community and 75 unit nursing home facility named The Village on the Heights. The Offering Statement was published and distributed by the underwriter of the bonds, defendant Miller & Schroeder Financial Inc., a subsidiary of Miller & Schroeder, Inc., (hereinafter “Miller & Schroeder”) in conjunction with their attorneys defendant Kutak, Rock & Campbell. The contractor and developer on the project was AmeriCare Corporation.

Under the Indenture of Trust accompanying the offering, the bondholders were limited to the assets of Trinity Foundation and, hence, the revenues generated from the sale of residential units and operation of the nursing care facility, for payment of principal and interest on the bonds. Consequently, a Financial Feasibility Study for The Village on the Heights was prepared by the accounting firm of defendant Laventhol & Horwath and was included in the Official Offering Statement. In its Financial Feasibility Study, Laventhol & Horwath concluded that the financial projections for The Village on the Heights were reasonable and adequate to support timely payment of principal and interest on the Trinity bonds. The bonds, in fact, have been in default since December of 1986 and the Trinity Foundation has filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

Plaintiff claims that the Official Offering Statement and Financial Feasibility Study contain material misrepresentations and omissions in that they fail to properly disclose the true financial condition of two identical Texas facilities called Canyon Creek and Rolling Meadows. These projects had likewise been developed by AmeriCare Corporation and financed by revenue bonds issued through an offering statement distributed by Miller & Schroeder and Kutak, Rock & Campbell. In addition, a financial feasibility study was prepared by Laventhol & Horwath for the Rolling Meadows project.1 At the time of the Trinity offering, occupancy rates, and thus revenues, from Canyon Creek and Rolling Meadows had fallen substantially behind the estimates set forth in their offering statements and both ventures are either in default, or are in danger of defaulting, on their bonds. Plaintiff’s complaint alleges causes of action under: (1) § 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“the Securities Exchange Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder; (2) §§ 12(2) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (“the Securities Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 111 (2) and § 77q(a); (3) [628]*628the Blue Sky Laws of Minnesota, Illinois and Texas; and (4) state common law fraud, negligence and misrepresentation. Plaintiff, on behalf of the class of purchasers, seeks recision and damages for unpaid principal and interest totaling some thirty million dollars ($30,000,000).

II. CLASS CERTIFICATION

Class action treatment of related claims is particularly appropriate and desirable when plaintiffs seek redress for alleged violations of the securities laws. It is well recognized that private enforcement of these laws is a necessary supplement to government regulation. See Eisenberg v. Gagnon, 766 F.2d 770, 785 (3d Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Wasserstrom v. Eisenberg, 474 U.S. 946, 106 S.Ct. 342, 88 L.Ed. 2d 290 (1985); Gavron v. Blinder Robinson & Co., Inc., 115 F.R.D. 318, 321 (E.D. Pa.1987). Accordingly, in an alleged securities fraud case, when a court is in doubt as to whether or not to certify a class action, the court should err in favor of allowing the class to go forward. Eisenberg, supra, 766 F.2d at 785. However, courts may approve class actions only after a “rigorous analysis” ensuring compliance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 23. General Tel. Co. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 161, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 2372, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982).

When seeking class certification, plaintiff bears the burden of proving that the action satisfies all four threshold requirements set forth in Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a), and also falls within one of the categories of Rule 23(b). Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 163, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 2145, 40 L.Ed. 2d 732 (1974). Rule 23(a) provides:

(a) Prerequisites to a Class Action.
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, and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a). A plaintiff relying on Rule 23(b)(3) must meet two additional criteria: (1) questions of law or fact common to class members must predominate over any questions affecting individual members; and (2) the class action device must be superior to any other method of adjudication. Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3).

A. Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act

1. Numerosity

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Bluebook (online)
125 F.R.D. 625, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5969, 1989 WL 61827, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-bexar-county-health-facility-development-corp-securities-litigation-paed-1989.