Jackson v. Danberg

240 F.R.D. 145, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12376, 2007 WL 549731
CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedFebruary 22, 2007
DocketNo. CIV.06 300 SLR
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 240 F.R.D. 145 (Jackson v. Danberg) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jackson v. Danberg, 240 F.R.D. 145, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12376, 2007 WL 549731 (D. Del. 2007).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROBINSON, Chief Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Robert Jackson instituted this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action challenging aspects of defendants’ methods for carrying out lethal injection as violative of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.2 (D.I. 2) Before the court is plaintiffs motion for an order certifying a state-wide class pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a),(b)(1) & (2), consisting of all current and future prisoners in the custody of the Delaware Department of Correction who are, or will be, sentenced to death.3 (D.I. 26) Plaintiffs counsel moves to be appointed as class counsel.4 Although defendants oppose the motion, they acknowledge that the requirements for class certification have all been satisfied except for “numerosity”. (D.I. 28) Oral argument to address the practical implications posed by plaintiffs motion was conducted on February 8, 2007. (D.I. 30)

[147]*147II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A district court has broad discretion to grant or deny class certification. Eisenberg v. Gagnon, 766 F.2d 770, 785 (3d Cir.1985). The court does not inquire into the merits of the lawsuit when determining whether it may be maintained as a class action. Eisen v. Carlisle and Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 177, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974). However, the court must conduct a limited preliminary inquiry, examining beyond the pleadings, to determine whether common evidence could suffice to make out a prima facie ease for the class. General Tel. Co. of Southwest v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 160, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982); Newton v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 259 F.3d 154, 167 (3d Cir.2001).

The party seeking class certification bears the burden of establishing that certification is warranted under the circumstances. In re ML-Lee Acquisition Fund II, L.P. Sec. Litig., 848 F.Supp. 527, 557 (D.Del.1994). Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure sets forth the requirements for certification of a class. Four requirements must be satisfied in order for a class to be certified under Rule 23(a). Amchem Prods. Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 613, 117 S.Ct. 2231, 138 L.Ed.2d 689 (1997). These requirements are: (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable (“numerosity”); (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class (“commonality”); (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class (“typicality”); and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. In re: Warfarin Sodium Antitrust Litigation, 212 F.R.D. 231, 246 (D.Del.2002). Plaintiff bears the burden to “establish that all four requisites of Rule 23(a) and at least one part of Rule 23(b) are met.” Baby Neal v. Casey, 43 F.3d 48, 55 (3d Cir.1994).

III. DISCUSSION

A. Numerosity

The factors to consider with respect to the numerosity requirement are (1) the size of the class, (2) the expediency of joinder, and (3) the practicality of multiple lawsuits. ML-Lee, 848 F.Supp. at 558. Plaintiffs putative class would potentially have 16 members. The number of class members is fluid, argues plaintiff, because new members are added (due to new death sentences) and deleted (by death) on a regular basis. (D.I. 27) For example, over the last 12 months, two inmates were added to death row while two other inmates were granted relief that removed them from death row, representing a 25% change in the composition of the class. (Id. at 3)

Defendants counter that 16 potential members is an insufficient number of class members to satisfy the numerosity requirement and individual joinder of the other 15 death row inmates to plaintiffs action is not impracticable. (D.I. 28) Because all putative class members have counsel appointed for representation in their respective post-conviction challenges, defendants assert that these attorneys can assist in filing individual suits similar to plaintiffs or could intervene in the action at bar.

It is clear that there is no rigid minimum number of class members necessary to warrant certification. In re Daimlerchrysler AG Securities Litigation, 216 F.R.D. 291, 295 (D.Del.2003); Manning v. Princeton Consumer Discount Company, Inc., 390 F.Supp. 320, 324 (E.D.Pa.1975). And the numerosity requirement has been relaxed in cases like this where injunctive and declaratory relief is sought by the class. Grant v. Sullivan, 131 F.R.D. 436, 446 (E.D.Pa.1990) citing Weiss v. York Hospital, 745 F.2d 786, 808 (3d Cir.1984). Accordingly, the court concludes that the putative class of 16 members is sufficient, especially considering that, as long as the death penalty is a viable sanction, the class possesses the potential to increase at random. To that end, although the identity of the members of the putative class may change, the defining characteristics and the parameters of the class will remain the same.

While defendants have opposed this motion primarily based on their assertion that joinder is possible and, alternatively, that each death row inmate can proceed with individual actions on the same claims, the court is not convinced that proceeding in either fashion [148]*148will result in consistent adjudications or will be the most prudent course to conserve scarce judicial resources. Specifically, defendants have not presented any practical reason for the court to deny certification nor have they addressed how to deal with the morass of problems associated with adding and removing parties from on-going litigation at various stages of litigation, nor how to ensure that judicial determinations are consistently and evenly applied. It is likewise dubious that counsel appointed to represent the respective death row inmates for post-conviction relief could be appointed for representation in the civil rights actions. In contrast, plaintiffs counsel are willing to assume representation of the class without seeking fees or costs.5

B. Remaining Requirements of Rule 23(a)

Since defendants concede that plaintiff has satisfied the remaining requirements of Rule 23(a), it is unnecessary to discuss these factors at length. Plaintiff has demonstrated the commonality requirement; the issues before the court are whether aspects of Delaware’s method for carrying out lethal injection violate the Eighth Amendment. These issues will be resolved by a common set of facts.

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Bluebook (online)
240 F.R.D. 145, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12376, 2007 WL 549731, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jackson-v-danberg-ded-2007.