James D. Hinson Electrical Contracting Co. v. BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc.

275 F.R.D. 638, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68169, 2011 WL 2448924
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedMarch 28, 2011
DocketNo. 3:07-cv-598-J-32MCR
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 275 F.R.D. 638 (James D. Hinson Electrical Contracting Co. v. BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc.) 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
James D. Hinson Electrical Contracting Co. v. BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc., 275 F.R.D. 638, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68169, 2011 WL 2448924 (M.D. Fla. 2011).

Opinion

ORDER

TIMOTHY J. CORRIGAN, District Judge.

Plaintiffs James D. Hinson Electrical Contracting Co., Inc. (Hinson) and Jensen Civil [641]*641Contracting Co., Inc. (Jensen) brought this putative class action lawsuit against defendant BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. (BellSouth) for allegedly overcharging excavators that accidentally damaged BellSouth’s underground facilities. Plaintiffs contend that BellSouth’s bills for repairing the damage to its facilities improperly included amounts for claims processing and general corporate overhead expenses that were not recoverable under Florida law. BellSouth has filed counterclaims against plaintiffs and the putative class, seeking recovery in tort for the damage to its facilities above what it has already collected. This case is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification (Doc. 131), Defendant BellSouth’s Brief in Opposition (Doc. 146), and Plaintiffs’ Reply (Doc. 149). The Court held a hearing on class certification and other issues on October 19, 2010, the transcript of which is incorporated by reference. (Doc. 154.)

I. Background

The facts of this ease are set forth in this Court’s previous orders. (Docs. 33, 97, 167.) To provide a brief summary, Hinson and Jensen damaged BellSouth’s underground facilities in connection with their construction and infrastructure services. (Doc. 104 at 5-6.) Since July 1, 2003, they have received numerous bills from BellSouth for such damages and, in many instances, have paid the full amount billed. {Id. at 5-7.) In this suit, Hinson and Jensen claim that BellSouth charged more for its repair work than it would have been entitled to recover in an action under Florida law.

Plaintiffs have moved to certify the following class:

All excavators or excavating contractors within the meaning of the Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act, F.S.A. § 556.101 et seq., who paid a bill from BellSouth for the cost of repairing damage to its underground facilities in Florida during the period from June 28, 2003 through the date of certification.

(Doc. 131 at 8.) Plaintiffs would exclude the following from the proposed class: “Bell-South’s officers, directors and employees; any damagers who have furnished BellSouth with a written release of their claims; and any damagers who have entered into a contract with BellSouth requiring that their claims be arbitrated.” (Id.) Each member of the class would assert claims based on the same four legal theories: violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, Fla. Stat. § 501.201 (FDUTPA), fraud, unjust enrichment, and money had and received. (Id. at 9.)1

II. Legal Standard

Before a district court certifies a class, it must find that “all the requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a) and at least one of the alternative requirements of Rule 23(b)” have been met. Jackson v. Motel 6 Multipurpose, Inc., 130 F.3d 999, 1005 (11th Cir.1997) (footnotes omitted). In relevant part, Rule 23 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 members 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.
(b) Class Actions Maintainable. An action may be maintained as a class action if the prerequisites of subdivision (a) are satisfied, and in addition:
(3) the court finds that the questions of law or fact common to the members of the class predominate over any questions affecting only individual members, and that a class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy. [642]*642Fed.R.Civ.P. 23. The movant has the burden of proving that class certification is appropriate under Rule 23. See Hudson v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 90 F.3d 451, 456 (11th Cir.1996); Gilchrist v. Bolger, 733 F.2d 1551, 1556 (11th Cir.1984).2

III. Discussion

a. The Requirements of Rule 23(a)

The Court first turns to the requirements of Rule 23(a) in analyzing whether the proposed class may be certified. While Bell-South does not contest all four prongs of Rule 23(a), “a court nevertheless has the responsibility of conducting its own inquiry as to whether the requirements of Rule 23 have been satisfied in a particular ease.” Valley Drug Co. v. Geneva Pharm., Inc., 350 F.3d 1181, 1188 (11th Cir.2003).

1. Numerosity

The numerosity requirement of Rule 23(a)(1) is satisfied if “the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(1). “Although mere numbers are not dispositive, the Eleventh Circuit’s general rule is that ‘less than twenty-one is inadequate, more than forty adequate, with numbers between varying according to other factors.’ ” Kuehn v. Cadle Co., Inc., 245 F.R.D. 545, 548 (M.D.Fla.2007) (quoting Cox v. Am. Cast Iron Pipe Co., 784 F.2d 1546, 1553 (11th Cir.1986)).

The numerosity requirement is satisfied in this case. Plaintiffs have submitted evidence that there are more than 6,500 members of the proposed class (Doc. 131 at 4, 10.), and BellSouth does not contest these numbers or the establishment of numerosity under Rule 23(a)(1). Accordingly, the Court finds that joinder is impracticable and numerosity is present.

2. Commonality

“Under the Rule 23(a)(2) commonality requirement, a class action must involve issues that are susceptible to class-wide proof.” Murray v. Auslander, 244 F.3d 807, 811 (11th Cir.2001). “Commonality requires ‘that there be at least one issue whose resolution will affect all or a significant number of the putative class members.’ ” Williams v. Mohawk Indus., Inc., 568 F.3d 1350, 1355 (11th Cir.2009) (quoting Stewart v. Winter, 669 F.2d 328, 335 (5th Cir.1982)). “Where the complaint alleges that the Defendants have engaged in a standardized course of conduct that affects all class members, the commonality requirement will generally be met.” In re Terazosin Hydrochloride, 220 F.R.D.

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275 F.R.D. 638, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68169, 2011 WL 2448924, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/james-d-hinson-electrical-contracting-co-v-bellsouth-telecommunications-flmd-2011.