Lopez v. Orlor, Inc.

176 F.R.D. 35, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18653, 1997 WL 726060
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedNovember 17, 1997
DocketCivil No. 3:95CV1890(PCD)
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 176 F.R.D. 35 (Lopez v. Orlor, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lopez v. Orlor, Inc., 176 F.R.D. 35, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18653, 1997 WL 726060 (D. Conn. 1997).

Opinion

RULING

DORSEY, Chief Judge.

Plaintiffs renew their motion for class certification with respect to Counts I and III. Plaintiffs also move for summary judgment as to liability on Counts I and III. For the reasons below, both motions are granted.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs purchased a used car from defendant on March 23,1995. In conjunction with the credit purchase of this vehicle, defendant sold plaintiffs a balance protection plan (“BPP”) for $475. The BPP is designed to protect an insured consumer, if the car is stolen or totaled, from having to pay the outstanding balance on the car which may not be covered by insurance and the deductible. This protection relieves the consumer from having to pay for charges which are not covered by insurance, such as service contracts or finance charges. The BPP also covers the shortfall between the insurance coverage and the amount still owed, which may occur if the outstanding balance is greater than the bluebook value at the time of the theft or destruction.

The sales contract included disclosures meant to comply with the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq. Defendant disclosed the BPP and its $475 cost as an “[ajmount paid to others.” Plaintiff alleges that only $175 was paid to a third party, Shawmut bank. The balance was kept by defendant, allegedly in violation of TILA, eoncededly as a “commission.”

Count I alleges TILA was violated in the improper disclosure of the BPP cost as an “amount financed,” rather than as a “finance charge.” Count HI alleges TILA was violated by the inaccurate disclosure of the BPP cost.

Plaintiffs move for summary judgment on Counts I and III as to liability only. Plaintiffs also renew their motion for class certification. Plaintiffs assert that approximately 300 consumers purchased BPPs from defendant, all of whom are argued to be similarly situated to plaintiffs. Defendant opposes both class certification and summary judgment.

II. ANALYSIS

A Class Certification

There are four prerequisites for a class action: “(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); Comer v. Cisneros, 37 F.3d 775, 796 (2nd Cir.1994).

Once the prerequisites are met, class certification is appropriate in one of three circumstances. Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b); Comer, 37 F.3d. Plaintiffs urge class certification under Rule 23(b)(3), which provides for certification where:

... 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. The matters pertinent to the findings include: (A) the interest of members of the class in individually controlling the prosecution or defense of separate actions; (B) the extent and nature of any litigation concerning the controversy already commenced by or against members of the class; (C) the desirability or undesirability of concentrating the litigation of the claims in the particular forum; (D) the difficulties likely to be encountered in the management of a class action.

[39]*39“When considering whether to certify a class, the allegations in the complaint are taken as true.” Rivera v. Fair Chevrolet Geo Partnership, 165 F.R.D. 361, 363 (D.Conn.1996) (“Rivera I ”) (citing Sharif by Salahuddin v. New York State Educ. Dept., 127 F.R.D. 84, 87 (S.D.N.Y.1989)).

Plaintiffs allege that over three hundred have suffered the same injury. The numerosity requirement is satisfied since joinder of all members would be impracticable. See, e.g., Swanson v. American Consumer Industries, Inc., 415 F.2d 1326, 1333 (7th Cir.1969) (forty members sufficient for numerosity requirement); Cypress v. Newport News Gen. & Nonsectarian Hosp. Ass’n, 375 F.2d 648, 653 (4th Cir.1967) (eighteen held sufficient). Unquestionably the relevant questions of law and fact are common to plaintiffs and all members of the proposed class. Unquestionably plaintiffs’ claims are typical of the claims of the proposed class.

Defendant questions the fourth prerequisite, i.e., whether plaintiffs will “fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a). Defendant raises two objections in this regard: (1) that the named plaintiffs are inadequate representatives; (2) that their interests are adverse to those of other class members. Defendant furthermore asserts that all of the potential class members are already included in the class certified in Rivera. Defendant alternatively urges that, if granted, certification should be for purposes of liability only.

1. Adequacy Of Plaintiffs As Class Representatives

Defendant challenges plaintiffs’ adequacy as class representatives in two respects. First, plaintiffs have not indicated that they will share costs. “[T]he only relevant inquiry is plaintiff’s willingness to pay his pro rata share of expenses.” Rivera I at 365. Defendant cites plaintiffs counsel’s decimation to let a plaintiff answer questions regarding his willingness to pay his pro rata share. Plaintiff’s counsel however acknowledges in the deposition her client’s responsibility for his share of costs. There is no basis to find that plaintiffs are unwilling to pay their pro rata share of costs, nor reason to deny certification on this basis.

Defendant’s second challenge addresses plaintiffs’ understanding of the litigation. A plaintiffs understanding has been held sufficient even where he “did not understand her complaint at all, could not explain the statements in it, had little knowledge of what the lawsuit was about, did not know the defendants by name, nor even the nature of the misconduct of the defendant.” Rivera I at 364 (quoting Eggleston v. Chicago Journeymen Plumbers’ Local Union No. 130, 657 F.2d 890, 896 (7th Cir.1981)). Defendant challenges plaintiffs’ understanding because they cannot specify the federal statute underlying the action, and because one of the plaintiffs described the BPP as “insurance to protect the car.” Jose Lopez Dep. at 21. Class representatives cannot be expected to be familiar with federal statutes such as TILA. Furthermore, while not technically “insurance” as described by Lopez, the BPP functions much like insurance from a layperson’s point of view.

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Bluebook (online)
176 F.R.D. 35, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18653, 1997 WL 726060, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lopez-v-orlor-inc-ctd-1997.