Jones v. Jeld-Wen, Inc.

250 F.R.D. 554, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66463, 2008 WL 2058517
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedMay 9, 2008
DocketNo. 07-22328-CIV
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 250 F.R.D. 554 (Jones v. Jeld-Wen, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. Jeld-Wen, Inc., 250 F.R.D. 554, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66463, 2008 WL 2058517 (S.D. Fla. 2008).

Opinion

ORDER

ROBIN S. ROSENBAUM, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter comes before the Court upon Plaintiffs’ Motion for Court Supervision of [556]*556Communications Between Defendant Jeld-Wen and the Putative Class [D.E. 132], pursuant to an Order of Reference entered by the Honorable William P. Dimitrouleas. [D.E. 137]. The Court has fully reviewed the Motion, Jeld-Wen’s Opposition to the Motion [D.E. 137], and the record in this case. The undersigned has also heard argument from counsel during a hearing held on April 28, 2008, and is otherwise fully advised in the premises. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion for Court Supervision of Communications Between Defendant Jeld-Wen and the Putative Class [D.E. 132] will be granted in part and denied in part.

INTRODUCTION

The background of the instant litigation is necessary for a full discussion of the issues now before the Court for consideration. As such, the Court will set forth those facts necessary to understand the context in which the Motion for Court Supervision is brought.

A. The Underlying Facts

In this case, Plaintiffs Suzanne Jones, et al., purchased laminated glass made and sold, in the first instance, by Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff Jeld-Wen, Inc. (“Jeld-Wen”), an Oregon corporation. To produce the glass at issue, Jeld-Wen used a patented process that it licensed from Third-Party Defendant Nebula Glass International, Inc. (“Glasslam”), a Florida corporation. Additionally, Glasslam sold Jeld-Wen resin that Jeld-Wen used in the glass-making process. More specifically, the patented Safety Plus Laminated Glass-making process involved sandwiching together a piece of glass, resin, a thin piece of polyethylene terephthalate polyester (“PET”) film, more resin, and another piece of glass. When prepared properly with effective ingredients, the impact resistant glass was supposed to function for at least ten years. Instead, however, Jeld-Wen’s customers began experiencing Safety Plus failures in the form of delamination and discoloration of the glass before ten years after installation had elapsed.

As it turned out, the resin Glasslam sold to Jeld-Wen was defective in that it either did not contain any ultraviolet light blocker, or it contained too little or ineffective versions of ultraviolet light blocker. Additionally, the resin had not been cooked to the proper temperature. Consequently, sunlight on the Safety Plus glass could cause the resin to fail, resulting in delamination and discoloration. Glasslam purchased the resin it sold to Jeld-Wen from Third-Party Defendant Reichhold, Inc. (“Reichhold”), a Delaware corporation that manufactured the product.

B. The Procedural History

1. Glasslam I

Upon receiving complaints about delamination and discoloration from customers other than Jeld-Wen, Glasslam investigated and discovered the problems with Reichhold’s resin. Nebula Glass Int’l, Inc. v. Reichhold, Inc., 454 F.3d 1203, 1206 (11th Cir.2006) (“Glasslam I”). Thus, in 2002, Glasslam filed suit against Reichhold for damages sustained as a result of Reichhold’s defective resin. Id. The case fell to Judge Dimitrouleas, within this Court.

Before trial, this Court precluded Glasslam from presenting at trial any future replacement claims unrelated to any of the specific customer complaints Glasslam had identified in its Rule 26, Fed.R.Civ.P., disclosures and interrogatory answers. Accordingly, at the trial, this Court instructed the jury as follows: “Glasslam may only seek to recover damages for those specific claims which have been presented to you during this trial. You should not consider at this time any damages for future claims which have not been specifically presented in this trial.” Id. at 1209. The jury returned a verdict of $22,500,000.00 for Glasslam, which was comprised of $1,271,379.00 in out-of-pocket damages, $14,-665.621.00 in unpaid customer claims, and $6,563,000.00 in lost profits. Id. at 1207. On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the judgment.

2. Glasslam II

Following the conclusion of Glasslam I, Glasslam filed a second lawsuit against Reichhold in Case No. 05-60704-CIV-DIMI-TROULEAS (S.D.Fla.) (“Glasslam II”). In that action, Glasslam sought compensation [557]*557for damages incurred as a result of Reich-hold’s defective resin, relating to glass not claimed in Glasslam I. Instead of proceeding to trial, however, the parties settled the matter and entered into a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice. Glasslam II, D.E. 132. Accordingly, the Court dismissed the action with prejudice. Glasslam II, D.E. 134.

3. Jeldr-Wen I

Before Glasslam and Reichhold settled Glasslam II, Jeld-Wen sued Glasslam, among others, in Case No. 05-60860-CIY-DIMITROULEAS (S.D.FIa.) (“Jeldr-Wen F). Glasslam then filed a third-party complaint against Reichhold in that action. Jeldr-Wen I, D.E. 32.

To address consumers’ concerns regarding delamination of the Safety Plus glass, Jeld-Wen instituted a process by which it received customers’ complaints and then scheduled inspections of all Safety Plus glass in the windows and doors of the structure. Jeldr-Wen I, D.E. 74, p. 3. If delamination existed, Jeld-Wen established a time for repair and replacement of the glass at issue. Id. Pursuant to an order issued on July 11, 2006, in Jeld-Wen I, [Jeldr-Wen I, D.E. 76], all parties were to receive notice of repairs performed by Jeld-Wen on its customers’ windows and were to be permitted to attend such repairs under the conditions established by the Court in its Order. Additionally, the Order authorized formal and informal third-party discovery after Jeld-Wen completed repairs on the targeted customer’s property. Id. at 3-4. In so directing, the Court expressly noted that the restriction was “meant to protect Jeld-Wen’s customers from unnecessary contact and to preserve Jeld-Wen’s relationships with its customers.” Id. (citations omitted); see also Jeldr-Wen I, D.E. 245, p. 2.

As the discovery cut-off in the case approached, it became obvious that Jeld-Wen was not going to be able to complete repairs on all of the properties for which it was seeking damages. Consequently, the Court held that the Jeldr-Wen I defendants could be required to defend against claims for particular windows only where they had been provided with the opportunity to conduct discovery with respect to the windows in question (those windows where repairs had been completed). Jeld-Wen I, D.E. 245, p. 10. In so directing, the Court expressly pointed out that Jeld-Wen remained free to pursue its claims in a subsequent action for other windows not inspected, repaired, and replaced by the close of the discovery period. Id. at 8.

On June 26, 2007, following a trial, the jury concluded that defective resin that Glasslam supplied Jeld-Wen served as a legal cause of damages sustained by Jeld-Wen. Jeld-Wen I, D.E. 362.

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Bluebook (online)
250 F.R.D. 554, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66463, 2008 WL 2058517, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-jeld-wen-inc-flsd-2008.