Justice v. Rheem Manufacturing Co.

318 F.R.D. 687, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97273, 2016 WL 8255610
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedApril 27, 2016
DocketCASE NO. 14-80017-CIV-DIMITROULEAS
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 318 F.R.D. 687 (Justice v. Rheem Manufacturing Co.) 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
Justice v. Rheem Manufacturing Co., 318 F.R.D. 687, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97273, 2016 WL 8255610 (S.D. Fla. 2016).

Opinion

SEALED ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

WILLIAM P. DIMITROULEAS, United States District Judge

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification (the “Motion”) [DE 88], filed herein on January 30, 2016. The Court has carefully considered the Motion [DE 88], the parties’ briefs, and is otherwise fully advised in the premises.

[692]*692I. Background

The operative complaint is the Second Amended Complaint (the “SAC”) [DE 51]. The parties to this action are Plaintiff Terrance Justice (“Justice”), Plaintiff Andrea Hatfield (“Hatfield”), Plaintiff Debbie Finn (“Finn”), Plaintiff Karen Dotson (“Dotson”), Plaintiff Michael Young (“Young”), Plaintiffs Steven and Nancy Ross (the “Ross Plaintiffs”), Plaintiff Chas ummers (“Summers”), and Plaintiff Kelvin Wise (“Wise” and collectively “Plaintiffs”); and Defendant Rheem Manufacturing Company (“Rheem” or “Defendant”). Defendant manufactures and sells consumer central air conditioning units (“Rheem ACs”). [DE 51 ¶ 1]. Each Plaintiff owns a Rheem AC. [Id. ¶¶ 23-30], Plaintiffs bring the following claims: (1) Count IV— Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (“FDUTPA”); (2) Count VIII— Unjust Enrichment; and (3) Count IX—Declaratory Relief.1

Rheem ACs—like all air conditioners—include a component known as an evaporator coil, which contains refrigerant (e.g. Freon, Puron, etc.). [Id. ¶ 2]. Rheem has traditionally used copper tubing to manufacture the evaporator coils. [Id. ¶ 4]. Copper tubing, however, is uniquely vulnerable to a type of degradation known as formicary corrosion, which causes evaporator coils to leak refrigerant. [Id. ¶¶ 4-6], Moreover, volatile organic compounds—which are given off by household products such as cleaning products, air fresheners, and cosmetics—cause formicary corrosion. [Id. ¶¶ 6-7]. Evaporator coil leakage, as caused by formicary corrosion, is difficult to detect and usually requires consumers to repeatedly refill air conditioners with refrigerant until the coil fails. [Id. ¶ 8].

Air conditioner manufacturers have employed reasonable design and manufacturing techniques to lessen or prevent the incidence of formicary corrosion. [Id. ¶ 11]. For example, manufacturers can make evaporator coils out of aluminum, which is not susceptible to formicary corrosion, or they can protect evaporator coils with polymer sealant or tin plating. [Id. ¶ 11], Until 2013, however, Rheem did not employ any of these techniques. [Id. ¶¶ 11-13]. Rather, it continued to design and manufacture Rheem ACs with copper evaporator coils (“Rheem Coils”) and to replace Rheem Coils with similarly defective Rheem Coils. [Id.]. As of 2013, Rheem began to sell replacement coils manufactured from aluminum. [Id. ¶ 15]. Rheem has not informed its customers of the Rheem Coils’ susceptibility to formicary corrosion, the existence of replacement coils that are not susceptible to formicary corrosion, or the causes of formicary corrosion. [Id. ¶¶ 16-17]. Rheem’s standard practice in response to leaks is to replace refrigerant rather than the defective Rheem Coils. [Id. ¶ 19].

In the Motion for Class Certification, Plaintiffs seek to certify the class of “all persons residing in Florida, Aabama, South Carolina, and Georgia who purchased a Rheem AC containing a Rheem copper evaporator coil, primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.” [DE 88 ¶ l].2 The Court held a hearing on the Motion on April 13, 2016.

II. Legal Standard

Parties seeking class action certification must satisfy the four requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a), commonly referred to as numerosity, commonality, typicality and adequacy of representation. Amchem Prods., Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 613, 117 S.Ct. 2231, 138 L.Ed.2d 689 (1997). Parties moving for class certification bear the burden of establishing each element of Rule 23(a). London v. Wal-Mart Stores, 340 F.3d 1246, 1253 (11th Cir. 2003); accord Brown v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc., 817 F.3d 1225, 1233-34 (11th Cir. 2016). If the party seeking class certification fails to demonstrate any requirement, the case may not continue as a class action. Jones v. Roy, 202 F.R.D. 658, 662 (M.D. Ala. 2001). Specifi[693]*693cally, the four requirements of Rule 23(a) are:

(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.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a).

In addition to meeting the four requirements of Rule 23(a), parties seeking class certification must prove that the action is maintainable under one of the three subsections of Rule 23(b). Amchem Prods., 521 U.S. at 614, 117 S.Ct. 2231. Here, Plaintiff asserts that class certification is appropriate pursuant to Rule 23(b)(3). Class certification under Rule 23(b)(3) is appropriate when (1) “questions of law or fact common to the members of the class predominate over any questions affecting only individuals members,” and when (2) “a class action is superior to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3). In the event that the Court declines certification under Rule 23(b)(3), Plaintiffs seek certification of a liability-only issue class pursuant to Rule 23(c)(4), which provides that “[w]hen appropriate, an action may be brought or maintained as a class with respect to particular issues.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(4).

In deciding whether to certify a class, a district court has broad discretion. Washington v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 959 F.2d 1566, 1569 (11th Cir. 1992). Although a district court is not to determine the merits of a case at the certification stage, sometimes “‘it may be necessary for the court to probe behind the pleadings before coming to rest on the certification question.’ ” Mills v. Foremost Ins. Co., 511 F.3d 1300, 1309 (11th Cir. 2008) (quoting General Tel. Co. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 160, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982)). A class action may only be certified if the court is satisfied, after a rigorous analysis, that the prerequisites of Rule 23 have been met. Gilchrist v. Bolger, 733 F.2d 1551, 1555 (11th Cir. 1984).

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318 F.R.D. 687, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97273, 2016 WL 8255610, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/justice-v-rheem-manufacturing-co-flsd-2016.