Kurczi v. Eli Lilly & Co.

160 F.R.D. 667, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3342, 1995 WL 114971
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedFebruary 27, 1995
DocketNo. 1:94 CV 0489
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 160 F.R.D. 667 (Kurczi v. Eli Lilly & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kurczi v. Eli Lilly & Co., 160 F.R.D. 667, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3342, 1995 WL 114971 (N.D. Ohio 1995).

Opinion

ORDER

ANN ALDRICH, District Judge.

On September 22, 1994, the plaintiffs filed a motion (Doc. # 117) that this action be maintained as a class action. For the reasons stated below, this Court hereby denies plaintiffs’ motion.

I.

This action is brought by a number of women who claim they have suffered damage to their reproductive systems due to their exposure in útero to diethylstilbestrol (DES) between 1949 and 1962. The plaintiffs assert that each of the numerous defendants is either a manufacturer of DES, a distributor of DES, or a parent or successor corporation to a manufacturer or distributor of DES.

The plaintiffs now seek an order that this action be maintained as a class action. In their motion, the plaintiffs state that

the proposed class consists of all past, present, and future female Ohio residents who were exposed to the drug DES in vitro1 and who have suffered sterility, par[671]*671tial or complete hysterectomies, breast cancer, birth of premature babies, recurrent infections or cervical cancer and/or atypical cervical cells.

Pis’ Motion for Class at 1. This differs somewhat from the class definition offered in the plaintiffs’ complaint, which states that

[a]ll named female plaintiffs bring this action on behalf of themselves and all female Ohio residents who were exposed to the drug DES in útero, and who have suffered sterility, partial or complete hysterectomies, breast cancer, birth of premature babies, recurrent infection, or cervical cancer and/or precancerous and/or atypical cervical cells and other DES related medical conditions.

Complaint at 27. A third class definition is found in the plaintiffs’ memorandum in support of the motion to certify a class. Pis’ Mem. in Supp. at 3.

II.

A. Prerequisites

Certification of class actions is governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. Rule 23(a) establishes four prerequisites to class certification.

1. Numerosity

Rule 23(a)(1) provides that the class must be “so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable.” There is no specific minimum class size necessary to satisfy the requirements of Rule 23(a)(1). The rules require a showing by the party seeking to certify a class that joinder of all potential class members is impracticable. “Impracticable,” for purposes of Rule 23(a), does not mean impossible. It simply means that it would be extremely difficult or inconvenient to attempt to join all the class members. See Sweet v. General Tire & Rubber Co., 74 F.R.D. 333, 334 (N.D.Ohio 1976). Thus, “[ijmpraeticality of joinder is not determined according to a strict numerical test but upon the circumstances surrounding the case.” Senter v. General Motors Corp., 532 F.2d 511, 523 n. 24 (6th Cir.1976).

& Commonality

In order to certify a class, the party seeking certification must demonstrate that there are “questions of law or fact common to the class.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(2); Senter, 532 F.2d at 520 (burden is on party seeking certification). A court reviewing these criteria must not base its conclusions on the merits of any issue. Rather, it must simply determine if the prerequisites of Rule 23(a) will be met by the claims of the party seeking certification. General Telephone Co. of Southwest v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 160, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 2372, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982).

3. Typicality

In addition to the commonality requirement noted above, Rule 23 requires that “the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(3). The Supreme Court noted in General Telephone that

The commonality and typicality requirements of Rule 23(a) tend to merge. Both serve as guideposts for determining whether under the particular circumstances maintenance of a class action is economical and whether the named plaintiff’s claim and the class claim are so interrelated that the interests of the class members will be fairly and adequately protected in their absence.

General Telephone v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147 at 157 n. 13, 102 S.Ct. 2364 at 2370 n. 13. The question becomes whether the named plaintiffs’ claims are typical of those of the class as a whole. This does not require that the claims be identical, but there must be some common question of fact or law. Senter, 532 F.2d at 525 n. 31; Thonen v. McNeil-Akron, Inc., 661 F.Supp. 1271, 1274 (N.D.Ohio 1986).

A Adequacy

Finally, Rule 23 requires that “the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.” Fed.[672]*672R.Civ.P. 23(a)(4). The Sixth Circuit has adopted a two-pronged test for determining the adequacy of potential class representatives. First, the potential representatives “must have common interests with the unnamed members of the class.” Senter, 532 F.2d at 525. Second, “it must appear that the representatives will vigorously prosecute the interests of the class through qualified counsel.” Id. A court “should consider the experience and ability of counsel for the plaintiffs [the party seeking certification] and whether there is any antagonism between the interests of the plaintiffs and other members of the class they seek to represent.” Cross v. National Trust Life Ins. Co., 553 F.2d 1026, 1031 (6th Cir.1977).

B. Maintaining a class action

If the party seeking to certify a class action satisfies the prerequisites of Rule 23(a), the party must then demonstrate that the class may be maintained pursuant to Rule 23(b). See Senter, 532 F.2d at 525. Rule 23(b) provides three scenarios in which an action may be maintained. The plaintiffs assert that this action is maintainable under either 23(b)(2) or 23(b)(3).

1. Rule 23(b)(2)

Rule 23(b) provides that “[a]n action may be maintained as a class action if the prerequisites of subdivision (a) are satisfied,” and

(2) the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class, thereby making appropriate final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief with respect to the class as a whole.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
160 F.R.D. 667, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3342, 1995 WL 114971, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kurczi-v-eli-lilly-co-ohnd-1995.