Keppley v. School District of Twin Valley

866 A.2d 1165, 2005 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 31
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 25, 2005
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 866 A.2d 1165 (Keppley v. School District of Twin Valley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Keppley v. School District of Twin Valley, 866 A.2d 1165, 2005 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 31 (Pa. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinions

OPINION BY

Senior Judge JIULIANTE.

Morgan Keppley appeals from the March 25, 2004 order of the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County (trial court) that denied her motion for class certification.1 In a civil action filed October 15, 2001, Keppley seeks damages against the School District of Twin Valley (School District); George Krapf, Jr. and Sons, Inc. (Krapf); Eshelman Transportation, Inc. (Eshelman); members of the Twin Valley School Board (School Board)2 and Jeffrey Ploppert, District Operations Director for the School District (collectively, Defendants) for violations of the Pennsylvania Wire Tapping and Electronic Surveillance Act (Act),3 Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. § 2511 (Title III),4 and 42 U.S.C. [1169]*1169§ 1983. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Keppley alleged in her complaint that she was a student at Twin Valley High School for the years 1996-2000. During that time, the School District had contracts with Krapf and Eshelman for the transportation of students to and from school by way of buses. At some point in time, the School District approved the installation of two “bus cam” electronic surveillance systems on the school buses that transported students within the district. By October 2001, each bus was equipped with a bus cam cover, which had a red light that was illuminated when the bus engine was started regardless of whether a bus cam was actually installed on the bus; the bus cams were rotated among the fleet of buses. The bus cams had a one-way mirror that enabled the cam to visually record activity on the buses.

Additionally, Keppley alleged that in March of 1996, the School District purchased 'two electronic surveillance devices which fit into the bus cam covers, namely, a Sony 8 mm CCD-TR 28 and a Nikon Action 8 VN-200. These devices were able to acquire the contents of conversations, aural transfers and oral communications and then record them. The School District did not notify the students that their activity and/or oral conversations were capable of being recorded nor did they obtain a court order to record student conversations.

Keppley alleged that the School District disclosed the contents of the visual and audio tapes in disregard of the students’ right to privacy and used them in disciplinary proceedings. . Keppley alleged that the School District attempted to use the contents of an intercepted conversation between her and another student for disciplinary purposes,5 that she had a reasonable expectation in the privacy of that communication, and that she had a reasonable expectation that her conversations would not be intercepted by Defendants.

Keppley’s complaint set forth 30 causes of action, summarized as follows: Counts I through XIX alleged that Defendants violated the Act; Counts XX through XXI alleged that the School District violated Title III; Counts XXII through XXIV alleged that Krapf and Eshelman were negligent in the supervision of their employees and of the instrumentalities under their control; Count XXV alleged that all Defendants engaged in a civil conspiracy in violation of the Act and Title III; Count XXVI alleged that Defendants violated Keppley’s civil rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983; Counts XXVII through XXIX alleged that Defendants invaded Keppley’s right to privacy; and finally, Count XXX alleged a class action in favor of similarly-situated students.

[1170]*1170In Count XXX, Keppley alleged that (1) she was bringing the lawsuit on behalf of all similarly-situated persons who were passengers on the school buses owned or controlled by Defendants while the buses were equipped with electronic surveillance devices; (2) there were in excess of 100 potential plaintiffs who were subjected to Defendants’ unlawful conduct; (3) the school buses were used to transport students and non-students to and from events which may or may not have been related to school activities; (4) the electronic surveillance equipment may have been used to unlawfully audiotape both students and non-students that were transported on the buses; (5) Keppley was authorized to bring the action on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated since joinder of all potential plaintiffs was impracticable; (6) there were common questions of law and fact to the class; (7) Keppley’s claims and defenses are typical of the class inasmuch as her injuries arose from the same course of conduct and were premised on the same legal theories as those of other potential class members; (8) Keppley could fairly and adequately represent the proposed class; . and (9) a class action would be a fair and efficient method of adjudicating the matters at issue.

After the filing of various pleadings and motions, Keppley filed a motion for class certification in which she defined the class to include

[a]ll persons who rode in Twin Valley school [buses] between on or about March 6, 1996, and August 16, 2001, which contained the Bus Cam electronic surveillance system.

(R.R. 188a) Her proposed class would include up to 1800 individuals.

The trial court held hearings on Keppley’s motion for class certification on August 26 and December 29, 2003. By order dated March 25, 2004, the trial court denied Keppley’s motion. This appeal followed.6

Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure 1701-17Í6 govern class action lawsuits. Rule 1702, Pa. R.C.P. No. 1702, sets forth the 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 in a class action only if
(1) the class is so numerous that join-der 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;
(4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately assert and protect the interests of the class under the criteria set forth in Rule 1709 [pertaining to criteria for certification; determination of fair and adequate representation]; and
(5) a class action provides a fair and efficient method for adjudication of the controversy under the criteria set forth in Rule 1708 [pertaining to criteria for certification; determination of class action as fair and efficient method of adjudication],

In determining whether the above criteria have been satisfied, trial courts are vested with broad discretion in making such determinations. Baldassari v. Suburban Cable TV Co., Inc., 808 A.2d 184 (Pa.Super.2002), appeal denied, 573 Pa. 694, 825 A.2d 1259 (2003). The burden [1171]*1171of proof lies with the proponent, but the proponent must only present sufficient evidence to make out a prima facie case “from which the court can conclude that the five class certification requirements are met.” Id. at 189 (quoting Janicik v. Prudential Ins. Co.

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Bluebook (online)
866 A.2d 1165, 2005 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 31, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/keppley-v-school-district-of-twin-valley-pacommwct-2005.