In re Nature's Sunshine Product's Inc.

251 F.R.D. 656, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73790, 2008 WL 4356588
CourtDistrict Court, D. Utah
DecidedSeptember 25, 2008
DocketNo. 2:06-CV-267-TS
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 251 F.R.D. 656 (In re Nature's Sunshine Product's Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Nature's Sunshine Product's Inc., 251 F.R.D. 656, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73790, 2008 WL 4356588 (D. Utah 2008).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION, APPOINTMENT OF CLASS REPRESENTATIVES, AND APPOINTMENT OF CLASS COUNSEL

TED STEWART, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Class Certification, Ap[657]*657pointment of Class Representatives, and Appointment of Class Counsel. Plaintiffs seek certification of the following classes:

• all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the common stock of Nature from March 16, 2005 through April 5, 2006 and were damaged thereby, pertaining to the alleged violations of Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), and Rule 10b-5 thereunder;

• all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the common stock of Nature from March 15, 2005 through April 5, 2006 and were damaged thereby, pertaining to the alleged violations of Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder.

• Excluded from both Classes should be defendants, members of the immediate family of each of the defendants, any person, firm, trust, corporation, officer, director, or other individual entity in which any defendant has a controlling interest or that is related to or affiliated with any of the defendants, and the legal representative, agents, affiliates heirs, successors-in-interest or assigns of any excluded party.

Lead Plaintiff Loh Chee Kuang and named Plaintiffs Rick Kader and Peter Rathmann also seek appointment as class representatives. Finally, Plaintiffs seek the appointment of the Rosen Law Firm, P.A. as lead counsel for the Class, and Hatch, James & Dodge as liaison counsel for the Class.

The Court heard oral argument on the Motion on April 10, 2008. For the reasons set out below, the Court will grant the Motion in part.

II. DISCUSSION

A. RULE 23(a) REQUIREMENTS

A class may be certified only if all four of the following prerequisites are met: (1) numerosity: the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable; (2) commonality: there are questions of law or fact common to the class; (3) typicality: the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class; and (4) adequacy of representation: the representative parties will fairly and adequately represent the interest of the class.1 “A party seeking class certification must show ‘under a strict burden of proof that all four requirements are clearly met.”2

The parties do not dispute that Plaintiffs have meet the first three requirements — numerosity, commonality, and typicality — thus, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have met their burden as to the first three prerequisites. Defendants argue, however, that Plaintiffs have failed to meet the fourth prerequisite — adequacy of representation.

“Resolution of two questions determines legal adequacy: (1) do the named plaintiffs and their counsel have any conflicts of interest with other class members and (2) will the named plaintiffs and their counsel prosecute the action vigorously on behalf of the class?”3

Defendants do not assert that there are any conflicts between the proposed class representatives or their counsel and other possible class members. Nor do Defendants assert that Plaintiffs’ counsel are unqualified, inexperienced, or unable to vigorously conduct this litigation. Rather, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs’ counsel, not Plaintiffs themselves, are controlling this litigation. Additionally, Defendants point to a number of other factors which they argue make Plaintiffs inadequate class representatives.

1. Plaintiffs’Knowledge

Defendants point to the Fifth Circuit decision of Unger v. Amedisys, Inc.,4 to support their proposition that Plaintiffs are inadequate. The court in Unger stated that, in order to meet the requirements of Rule 23(a)(4), “[cjlass representatives must satisfy the court that they, and not counsel are [658]*658directing the litigation.”5 In order to do this, “class representatives must show themselves sufficiently informed about the litigation to manage the litigation effort.”6

Courts have recognized that “[i]n a complex lawsuit ... the representative need not have extensive knowledge of the facts of the case in order to be an adequate representative.” 7 “Only if the class representatives’ ‘participation is so minimal that they virtually have abdicated to their attorneys the conduct of the case’ should they fail to meet the adequacy of representation requirement.”8

The Court finds that the class representatives are sufficiently informed to manage the litigation effort and have not improperly abdicated the conduct of the case to their attorneys. In their Declarations, Plaintiffs Loh, Kader, and Rathmann affirmatively state, among other things, that they: have read the initial complaint and have reviewed and authorized the filing of the Consolidated Class Action Complaint;9 are aware of the allegations contained in the Consolidated Class Action Complaint;10 are aware of the nature of a class action lawsuit;11 are aware of the class periods involved in this litigation, which were limited by the Court;12 understand that this litigation is in the discovery phase and have communicated with counsel concerning discovery;13 are aware of their role as a class representative and are willing to undertake that role;14 will continue to communicate with counsel about the status of litigation, case strategies, settlement negotiations, and other matters pertinent to overseeing the litigation;15 and have continued to monitor news about Nature during the course of this litigation and will continue to independently monitor developments.16

These statements are supported by the statements made by Plaintiffs in their depositions. In his deposition,17 Plaintiff Loh states that: he had a lot of communication with his counsel concerning the preparation of the complaint;18 he reviewed a draft of the complaint;19 and he reviewed a draft of the complaint before it was filed.20 Plaintiff Loh also states that he reviewed the Motion to Certify and the Declaration he signed before they were filed.21 Plaintiff Loh has: reviewed documents given to counsel;22 provided documents to counsel;23 and met with counsel prior to his deposition.24 Loh communicates regularly with counsel25 and communicates with counsel much more now that the case is in its discovery stage.26 Plaintiff Loh also indicated that he conducted various research before deciding to invest in Nature.27 Additionally, Plaintiff Loh’s deposi[659]*659tion makes clear that he understands his duties as a class representative28

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Bluebook (online)
251 F.R.D. 656, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73790, 2008 WL 4356588, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-natures-sunshine-products-inc-utd-2008.