In re Insurance Management Solutions Group, Inc. Securities Litigation

206 F.R.D. 514, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6736, 2002 WL 530985
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedApril 1, 2002
DocketNo. 8:00-CV-2013-T-26MAP
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 206 F.R.D. 514 (In re Insurance Management Solutions Group, Inc. Securities Litigation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Insurance Management Solutions Group, Inc. Securities Litigation, 206 F.R.D. 514, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6736, 2002 WL 530985 (M.D. Fla. 2002).

Opinion

ORDER

LAZZARA, District Judge.

Before the Court is Plaintiffs Motion for Class Certification (Dkt.89), Plaintiffs Notice of Filing Supplemental Authority (Dkt.90), the IMSG Defendants’ Memorandum in Opposition and, in the alternative, Motion to Establish Class Period Cut-Off (Dkt.98), the Underwriter Defendants’ Memorandum in Opposition (Dkt.99), Venture Capital’s Response (Dkt.100), and the Correction of Scrivener’s Error (Dkt.102). After careful consideration of the arguments made and the entire file, the Court concludes that class certification should be granted.

Pertinent Background

Early in this securities litigation, the Court consolidated three proposed class actions. (Dkt.20). In that order, the Court also appointed two lead Plaintiffs: Muriel Goodman and Thomas Schmidt. (Dkt.20). Just six days before the motion for class certification was filed, the Court granted the withdrawal of Muriel Goodman as a named Plaintiff and class representative, leaving Thomas Schmidt as the lead Plaintiff. (Dkt.88).

Thomas Schmidt as the sole lead Plaintiff now seeks an order appointing him as class representative and certifying this action as a class. Plaintiff seeks certification pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3) of the following class of individuals:

All persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the common stock of Insurance Management Solutions Group, Inc. (IMSG) pursuant and/or traceable to the Initial Public Offering of IMSG completed on or about February 11, 1999. Excluded from the Class are defendants, members of the immediate family of each of the individual defendants, any subsidiary or affiliate of IMSG, the directors, officers and employees of IMSG or their subsidiaries or affiliates, any entity in which any defendant has a controlling interest and the legal representatives, heirs, successors, predecessors, in interest, affiliates, or assigns of any defendant.

(Dkt.89). Plaintiff asserts that Mr. Schmidt’s interests do not conflict with the interests of the members of the proposed class.

Mr. Schmidt purchased IMSG stock from the Initial Public Offering (IPO) and suffered significant losses.1 When Mr. Schmidt graduated from high school, he began driving dump trucks for his father. (Dkt. 98 Exh. A at pg. 55). He soon purchased some dump trucks of his own and continued in the trucking business for twenty-seven years. (Dkt. 98 Exh. A at pg. 55). From 1983 through 1991 he owned a fastener distributorship, turning it over to one of his sons when he left. (Dkt. 98 Exh. A at pg. 56). After taking a few years off, he helped one of his sons at his son’s business called City Gym, from 1994 until 2000. (Dkt. 98 Exh. A at pg. 56).

[516]*516Mr. Schmidt answered interrogatories propounded by the Defendants and appeared for his deposition on January 25, 2002. (Dkt. 98 Exh. A). He testified at his deposition how he came to know about IMSG and the IPO. (Dkt. 98 at Exh. A at pgs. 13-18). He testified that he remembered four specific conversations he had with his attorneys about this case, beginning in either late 2000 or early 2001. (Dkt. 98 Exh. A at pgs. 46-52). Mr. Schmidt met personally with his counsel the day before he was deposed. (Dkt. 98 Exh. A at pg. 49). He testified that he had received and read a copy of the Amended Complaint and the interrogatories from his attorneys. (Dkt. 98 at Exh. A at pg. 57).

Argument

Defendants attack the motion for class certification on one ground — that Thomas Schmidt is not an adequate class representative. Asserting that this action is “a classic example of lawyer-driven class action litigation,” Defendants contend that he has little or no understanding of his claims or his responsibilities as lead plaintiff. (Dkt. 98 at pg. 2). Specifically, Defendants note, Mr. Schmidt does not understand “the business line incompatibility claim that serves as the fulcrum of his lawsuit.” (Dkt. 98 at pg. 3). Adding to this lack of understanding, Defendants maintain, his reading the Amended Complaint and a few other materials is insufficient involvement for a lead plaintiff and that Mr. Schmidt should have read the motions to dismiss, responses, and court rulings. Three brief conversations between lead plaintiff and counsel2 is inadequate involvement on the part of a lead plaintiff, argue Defendants. Finally, Defendants assert that Mr. Schmidt has no knowledge of the four settlement demands his attorneys made prior to his deposition.

Plaintiff addresses the issue of lead plaintiffs adequacy by establishing that Mr. Schmidt suffered the same injuries resulting from the same alleged misrepresentations and omissions of Defendants. Plaintiff asserts that a named plaintiff need not demonstrate the vigor to pursue the legal claims of the class, but rather plaintiffs counsel must exhibit that vigor. Plaintiff attached the firms’ resumes to an affidavit in the file to support Plaintiffs assertion that counsel is adequate to represent a class in this action.

Adequate Representation

As part of the fourth requirement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a),3 the named class representative must “fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.” See Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(4). The named plaintiff or plaintiffs must meet two prerequisites independent of the requirements for plaintiffs counsel. First, the named plaintiff must not have interests antagonistic to the rest of the class. See Kirkpatrick v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 827 F.2d 718, 726 (11th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 485 U.S. 959, 108 S.Ct. 1220, 1221, 99 L.Ed.2d 421 (1988). Second, the named plaintiffs must possess the personal characteristics and integrity necessary to fulfill the fiduciary role of class representative. See id.

The only issue brought before this Court involves the second prerequisite — the personal characteristics of Mr. Schmidt as they relate to his ability to perform his duties as class representative. The Eleventh Circuit has articulated the standard by which this Court must assess the adequacy of a named plaintiff in a securities ease:

[I]n securities cases such as these, where the class is represented by competent and zealous counsel, class certification should not be denied simply because of a perceived lack of subjective interest on the part of the named plaintiffs unless their participation is so minimal that they virtually have abdicated to their attorneys the conduct of the case.

Kirkpatrick, 827 F.2d at 728. If one assumes there is a “perceived lack of subjective interest” on the part of Mr. Schmidt, then this Court must decide whether Mr. Schmidt’s participation in this lawsuit has been so minimal that he has abdicated to his [517]*517attorneys the conduct of the case. This determination is a factual one. See id.

To make a finding of abdication, this Court must be convinced that Mr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Justice v. Rheem Manufacturing Co.
318 F.R.D. 687 (S.D. Florida, 2016)
Sanchez-Knutson v. Ford Motor Co.
310 F.R.D. 529 (S.D. Florida, 2015)
Pryor v. Aerotek Scientific, LLC
278 F.R.D. 516 (C.D. California, 2011)
Drossin v. National Action Financial Services, Inc.
255 F.R.D. 608 (S.D. Florida, 2009)
Rosen v. J.M. Auto Inc.
270 F.R.D. 675 (S.D. Florida, 2009)
Jones v. Jeld-Wen, Inc.
250 F.R.D. 685 (S.D. Florida, 2008)
Rosen v. Textron, Inc.
369 F. Supp. 2d 204 (D. Rhode Island, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
206 F.R.D. 514, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6736, 2002 WL 530985, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-insurance-management-solutions-group-inc-securities-litigation-flmd-2002.