Krogman v. Sterritt

202 F.R.D. 467, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4171, 2001 WL 313963
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedMarch 29, 2001
DocketNo. CIV. A. 3:98-CV-2895-M
StatusPublished
Cited by72 cases

This text of 202 F.R.D. 467 (Krogman v. Sterritt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Krogman v. Sterritt, 202 F.R.D. 467, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4171, 2001 WL 313963 (N.D. Tex. 2001).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

LYNN, District Judge.

Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification, filed August 16, 1999, the Response of Grant Thornton and Plaintiffs’ Reply, along with briefs and appendices submitted by the parties. Having considered that material and the applicable authorities, as well as the arguments of counsel at a hearing held on October 11, 2000, and the testimony of experts at a hearing held on November 16, 2000, the Court DENIES Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification.

I. Background

This action is brought on behalf of all investors who purchased the common stock of Continental Investment Corporation (“CIC”) during the period of November 27, 1996 through October 26, 1998 (the “Class Period”). Plaintiffs are six individuals who purchased CIC common stock during the Class Period.1 Defendants include former CIC executives, CIC’s outside auditor and accountant, and a Dallas brokerage firm,.

The gravamen of Plaintiffs’ Complaint is that Defendants defrauded Plaintiffs by misstating and omitting material facts regarding CIC in numerous SEC filings and other disclosures to the market. Grant Thornton, LLP (“GT”), CIC’s auditor, issued three formal audit opinions, which are alleged by the Plaintiffs to be false and misleading. Plaintiffs also allege that CIC sponsored purportedly independent securities analyst reports about CIC, which recommended that investors purchase CIC stock, and that the Defendant executives are responsible for that. At the beginning of the Class Period, CIC’s common stock was trading at or above $20 per share. Today, CIC is bankrupt and the shares are virtually worthless, if not totally so.

Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit in December 1998. In their Complaint, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants are liable for violations of [471]*471Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the 1934 Securities and Exchange Act, and for common law fraud.

Plaintiffs seek certification to represent the class of purchasers and other acquirers of CIC common stock during the Class Period.2 Defendant GT, the only Defendant to respond to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification, argues that Plaintiffs’ claims should not be certified because the class representatives’ claims are not typical of the class, and individual issues of reliance predominate over issues common to the class.

II. Standard of Review

A district court has wide discretion in deciding whether or not to certify a proposed class, and the standard of review is abuse of discretion. Gulf Oil Co. v. Bernard, 452 U.S. 89, 100, 101 S.Ct. 2193, 68 L.Ed.2d 693 (1981); Jenkins v. Raymark Indus., Inc., 782 F.2d 468, 471-72 (5th Cir.1986). This Court must conduct a rigorous analysis of the Fed. R. Civ.P. 23 (“Rule 23”) requirements before deciding whether or not to certify a class. Gen. Tel. Co. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 102 S. Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982).

When determining certification, a district court may look beyond the pleadings to determine whether the requirements of Rule 23 have been met.3 Castano v. American Tobacco Co., 84 F.3d 734, 744 (5th Cir.1996). This is necessary because a court “must understand the claims, defenses, relevant facts, and applicable substantive law in order to make a meaningful determination of the certification issues.” Id. (citing Manual For Complex Litigation § 30.11 (3d ed.1995)).4

III. Analysis

For Plaintiffs to maintain a class action, the four prerequisites set forth in Rule 23(a) and at least one of the requirements enumerated in Rule 23(b) must be met. Plaintiffs have the burden of proof of those requirements. Applewhite v. Reichhold Chem., Inc., 67 F.3d 571, 573 (5th Cir.1995). Rule 23(a) states:

One or more members of a class may sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf of all 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.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a). Plaintiffs argue that this case meets those requirements and those of Rule 23(b)(3), which requires 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 superi- or to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3).

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

1. Numerosity

Rule 23(a)(1) requires that the class be so numerous that the joinder of all members would be impracticable. Plaintiffs are not required to demonstrate the precise [472]*472number of potential class members to satisfy the requirement that joinder is impracticable. Zeidman v. J. Ray McDermott & Co., 651 F.2d 1030, 1038 (5th Cir.1981).

Plaintiffs assert that during the Class Period, more than 12 million shares of CIC common stock were outstanding. CIC had approximately 1200 shareholders, other than those whose stock was held in street name. GT does not challenge certification on the ground of lack of numerosity. The Court finds that the size of the proposed class is sufficiently large to satisfy Rule 23(a)(1).

2. Commonality

Rule 23(a)(2) requires that there be questions of law or fact common to the class. The threshold of proof of commonality is not high, as it does not require a complete identity of claims among class members. Jenkins, 782 F.2d at 472. Moreover, in securities fraud litigation, the existence of alleged misrepresentations in published documents has been held to satisfy the common question requirement. See Simpson v. Specialty Retail Concepts, 149 F.R.D. 94, 98 (M.D.N.C.1993) (holding that in the Rule 10b-5 context, misrepresentations in annual reports, interim reports, and press releases satisfy the common question requirement).

In the present case, Plaintiffs allege the following questions of law or fact common to all members of the proposed class:

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202 F.R.D. 467, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4171, 2001 WL 313963, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/krogman-v-sterritt-txnd-2001.