Maldonado v. Ochsner

237 F.R.D. 145, 2006 WL 2042376
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedMarch 24, 2006
DocketCivil Action No. 04-2635
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 237 F.R.D. 145 (Maldonado v. Ochsner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maldonado v. Ochsner, 237 F.R.D. 145, 2006 WL 2042376 (E.D. La. 2006).

Opinion

ORDER AND REASONS

FELDMAN, District Judge.

Before the Court is plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification. For the reasons that follow, the motion is DENIED.

Background,

Ochsner Clinic Foundation is a non-profit corporation. See 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3). Ochsner receives tax exemptions under § 501(c)(3) and LSA-R.S. 47:287.501. The plaintiffs are uninsured patients who received medical care from Ochsner and were then billed for their care. Their grievance is that Ochsner charges uninsured patients undiscounted rates for their medical services, but offers discounts to patients who are health plan members, or are covered by private insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid. Plaintiffs further assert that Ochsner engages in abusive collection practices against uninsured patients. The plaintiffs claim that Ochsner’s policies violate, among other things, an agreement between Ochsner and the State of Louisiana that was created when Ochsner accepted its tax exemptions as a charitable organization.

The plaintiffs sued Ochsner and the American Hospital Association in state court, for breach of contract, third party breach of contract, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, violations of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, unjust enrichment/constructive trust, civil eonspiracy/concert of action, and aiding and abetting. The defendants removed, and this Court denied a motion to remand because the Louisiana statute upon which the plaintiffs rely implicates an interpretation of federal law. All parties eventually agreed to dismiss AHA as a defendant, thereby eliminating the conspiracy and aiding and abetting causes of action.

The plaintiffs now seek to certify their remaining claims under Rule 23(b)(2) or, alternatively, Rule 23(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as a class action composed of: “all persons who received any form of health care treatment and were charged an undiscounted amount for the services at Ochsner from September 1, 1994 through the date of commencement of class notice or entry of judgment and who were uninsured at the time of treatment.”

I.

Parties seeking class certification must satisfy the four well-known threshold require[148]*148ments of Rule 23(a), and also the requirements of either Rule 23(b)(1), (2), or (3). See Amchem Prods., Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 614, 117 S.Ct. 2231, 138 L.Ed.2d 689 (1997). This Court is instructed to “conduct a rigorous analysis of the Rule 23 prerequisites before certifying a class.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. AT&T Corp., 339 F.3d 294, 301 (5th Cir.2003) (quoting O’Sullivan v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 319 F.3d 732, 738 (5th Cir.2003) (internal quotations omitted)). “The party seeking certification ... bears the burden of establishing that the requirements of Rule 23 have been met.” Id. (citing O’Sullivan, 319 F.3d at 737-38). Although whether an inquiry into the merits of pleaded claims should be permissible has been hotly debated:

[i]n ruling upon a motion for class certification, courts treat the substantive allegations contained in the plaintiffs’ complaint as true. The issue is not whether the plaintiffs have stated a cause of action or will prevail on the merits, but rather whether the requirements of Rule 23 are met. The court may look past the pleadings to the record and any other completed discovery to make a determination as to the class certification issue.

In re Am. Commercial Lines, LLC, Nos. Civ.A. 00-252, Civ.A. 00-2967, Civ.A. 00-3147, 2002 WL 1066743, at *2 (E.D.La. May 28, 2002).

II.

Rule 23(a) requires numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation. Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a). The plaintiffs must satisfy each of these four threshold requirements for class certification, and they have done so.

A. Numerosity

Numerosity requires that the class be so large “that joinder of all members is impracticable.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a). In their motion for class certification, the plaintiffs estimate that the class consists of over 1,000 members. Ochsner estimates the number of class members to be 39,000. A class of this size clearly satisfies the numerosity requirement. See, e.g., Bertulli v. Indep. Ass’n of Cont’l Pilots, 242 F.3d 290, 296 (5th Cir.2001) (class of 1700 fulfills numerosity requirement).

B. Commonality

Commonality requires “at least one issue whose resolution will affect all or a significant number of the putative class members.” Stewart v. Winter, 669 F.2d 328, 335 (5th Cir.1982). “The threshold of commonality is not high.” Bertulli 242 F.3d at 296-97 (internal quotations omitted). Moreover:

[t]he interests and claims of the various plaintiffs need not be identical. Rather, the commonality test is met when there is at least one issue whose resolution will affect all or a significant number of the putative class members. The fact that some of the plaintiffs may have different claims, or claims that may require individualized analysis, will not defeat commonality-

In re Am. Commercial, 2002 WL 1066743, at *8.

The third party breach of contract claim rests entirely on interpretation of the consequences of accepting a tax exemption. If benefitting by the tax exemption creates a contract, and the patients are third-party beneficiaries, then every member of the class can be affected. If tax exempt status does not create a contract, or the patients are not third-party beneficiaries, every member of the class again shares a common attribute. Therefore, given the low threshold of commonality, this requirement is satisfied.

C. Typicality

Typicality 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). The claims of plaintiffs Soignet and Eiswirth are typical of the claims of the class members. The fact that Soignet has only partially paid his bill is typical of the class, as is the fact that Eiswirth has not paid any of his bill. Eighty-three percent of the members of the class have not paid anything; seventeen percent have paid all or some part of their bills. Further, the fact that some members may have paid all or none of their bills does not destroy the fact that the plaintiffs’ claimed [149]*149harm is the mere charging of discriminatory rates.

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Related

Eufaula Hospital Corporation v. Lawrence
32 So. 3d 30 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 2009)
Maldonado v. Ochsner Clinic Foundation
493 F.3d 521 (Fifth Circuit, 2007)
Colomar v. Mercy Hospital, Inc.
242 F.R.D. 671 (S.D. Florida, 2007)

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Bluebook (online)
237 F.R.D. 145, 2006 WL 2042376, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maldonado-v-ochsner-laed-2006.