Miami Automotive Retail, Inc. v. Baldwin

97 So. 3d 846, 2012 WL 2402152, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10389
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJune 27, 2012
DocketNo. 3D10-2136
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 97 So. 3d 846 (Miami Automotive Retail, Inc. v. Baldwin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miami Automotive Retail, Inc. v. Baldwin, 97 So. 3d 846, 2012 WL 2402152, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10389 (Fla. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

On Motion for Rehearing

ROTHENBERG, J.

We deny the appellee’s motion for rehearing, but withdraw this Court’s opinion, dated June 15, 2011, and issue the instant opinion in its stead to clarify this Court’s findings.

This is an appeal from a non-final order certifying a class of automobile buyers who traded in a vehicle when they purchased a vehicle at Miami Automotive Retail (“MAR” or “Brickell Honda”), and MAR incorrectly estimated the amount owed on the trade-in vehicle. Because individual questions of law and fact predominate, and class representation is not superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the case, we conclude the trial court abused its discretion in certifying a class.

FACTS

In December 2004, Christine Baldwin (“Ms.Baldwin”) purchased a Honda CR-V from MAR, which sells automobiles at a dealership in Miami, Florida, under the tradename of Brickell Honda. At the time of the purchase, Ms. Baldwin was driving a leased Honda Civic. Pursuant to their agreement, Brickell Honda agreed to pay off the remaining amount Ms. Baldwin owed for the leased Honda Civic, and to treat the leased Honda Civic as a “trade-in.” As the exact amount Ms. Baldwin owed on her trade-in vehicle was not available at the time the parties negotiated the transaction and Ms. Baldwin signed the purchase documents, the parties calculated the amount still owing and the estimated trade-in value of the Honda CR-V, and Brickell Honda listed this estimated trade-in value on the purchase documents. Ms. Baldwin contends she was told that if the estimated payoff amount was less than what they had estimated, Brickell Honda would refund her the difference. As it turned out, the actual payoff amount was less than the estimated amount, but Bric-kell Honda did not notify Ms. Baldwin or give her a refund for the difference.

Ms. Baldwin sued, and, as relevant here, she contends Brickell Honda violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (“FDUTPA”) by failing to give her a refund for the difference between the estimated payoff amount on her trade-in and the actual amount Brickell Honda paid. On September 30, 2009, Ms. Baldwin filed a motion seeking class certification under sections 501.201, 501.976(9), and 501.976(11), Florida Statutes (2008), and to serve as the class representative.

Section 501.201 et seq., is the more generalized section regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices, whereas section 501.976 specifically addresses unfair or deceptive acts or practices involving vehicles. Section 501.976, titled “Actionable, unfair, or deceptive acts or practices,” provides in relevant part as follows:

It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice, actionable under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, for a dealer to:
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(9) Obtain signatures from a customer on contracts that are not fully completed at the time the customer signs or which do not reflect accurately the negotiations and agreement between the customer and the dealer.
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(11) Add to the cash price of a vehicle as defined in s. 520.02(2) any fee or charge other than those provided in that section and in rule 69V-50.001, Florida Administrative Code. All fees or charges permitted to be added to the cash price by rule 69V-50.001, Florida Administrative Code, must be fully disclosed to customers in all binding contracts concerning the vehicle’s selling price.

After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied certification under sections 501.201 and 501.976(9), but granted certification under section 501.976(11) as follows:

All individuals and entities that purchased an automobile from Brickell Honda where: 1) an automobile encumbered by a lien was “traded-in” in the transaction; 2) the dealer overestimated the lien payoff on the trade-in; B) after paying off the lien, the dealer did not refund the resulting overcharge to the customer; and 4) no other complementary goods or services were provided in exchange for not refunding the overcharge.

In the order certifying the class, the trial court appointed Ms. Baldwin as class representative, disqualified Ms. Baldwin’s husband from serving as class counsel, and appointed counsel to represent the class. Brickell Honda appeals the order certifying the class under section 501.976(11); Ms. Baldwin has not appealed the denial of class certification under sections 501.201 and 501.976(9).

LEGAL ANALYSIS

A trial court’s order certifying a class is a non-final appealable order that is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. Fla. R. App. P. 9.130(a)(3)(C)(vi); Sosa v. Safeway Premium Fin. Co., 73 So.3d 91, 102-OS (Fla.2011); Ernie Haire Ford, Inc. v. Gilley, 903 So.2d 956, 958 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005); Adiel v. Elec. Fin. Sys., Inc., 513 So.2d 1347, 1347 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). In certifying a class, the trial court is required to conduct a “rigorous analysis” regarding whether the case is one that meets the criteria set by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.220. Baptist Hosp. of Miami Inc. v. Demario, 661 So.2d 319, 321 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995). “To obtain class certification, the proponent of class certification carries the burden of pleading and proving the elements required under rule 1.220.” Sosa, 73 So.3d at 106; see also InPhyNet Contracting Servs., Inc. v. Soria, 33 So.3d 766, 771 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010). “The discretion of a trial court is to be applied within the structure of rule 1.220.” Sosa, 73 So.3d at 103. The burden is only met if there is a “sound basis in fact, not supposition,” because the “granting of class certification considerably expands the dimensions of the lawsuit, and commits the court and the parties to much additional labor over and above that entailed in an ordinary private lawsuit.” Demario, 661 So.2d at 321.

To meet her burden, Ms. Baldwin was required to present evidence sufficient to meet each of the factors required under rule 1.220(a), and one of the three categories of factors listed in rule 1.220(b). As a prerequisite to class certification, the court must first conclude that:

(1) the members of the class are so numerous that separate joinder of each member is impracticable, (2) the claim or defense of the representative party raises questions of law or fact common to the questions of law or fact raised by the claim or defense of each member of the class, (3) the claim or defense of the representative party is typical of the claim or defense of each member of the class, and (4) the representative party can fairly and adequately protect and [852]*852represent the interests of each member of the class.

Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.220(a) (emphasis added). These requirements are summarized as numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy, respectively.

In addition to numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy, a class must meet one of the three categories listed in subsection (b) of rule 1.220. The class category Ms. Baldwin relies on requires that “the questions of law or fact common to the claim ... of the representative party and the claim ... of each member of the class predominate over any question of law or fact affecting only individual members of the class.” Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.220(b)(3) (emphasis added).

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Bluebook (online)
97 So. 3d 846, 2012 WL 2402152, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10389, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miami-automotive-retail-inc-v-baldwin-fladistctapp-2012.