National Organization for Women, Inc. v. Scheidler

172 F.R.D. 351, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4036, 1997 WL 158323
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 31, 1997
DocketNo. 86 C 7888
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 172 F.R.D. 351 (National Organization for Women, Inc. v. Scheidler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Organization for Women, Inc. v. Scheidler, 172 F.R.D. 351, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4036, 1997 WL 158323 (N.D. Ill. 1997).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

COAR, District Judge.

Plaintiffs, the National Organization for Women, Incorporated (“NOW”), Delaware Women’s Health Organization, Incorporated (“DWHO”), and Summit Women’s Health Organization, Incorporated (“Summit”), have moved to certify the following two classes certified:

(1) The class of all women’s health centers in the United States at which abortions are performed, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2) and 23(b)(3) [the “Clinic Class”]; and (2) the class of all women who are not NOW members who have used or may use the services of women’s health centers that provide abortions, pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2) [the “NOW Non-Member Class”].1

Legal Standard for Motions for Class Certification

Motions for class certification are governed by Fed.R.Civ.P. 23, which provides that the following prerequisites must be satisfied in order for one or more members of a class to sue as representatives of others in the class: (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable [“numerosity”]; (2) [356]*356there are questions of law or fact common to the class [“commonality”]; (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class [“typicality”]; and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class [“adequacy of representation”]. Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a). In addition to these requirements, an action must satisfy one of the three sections of Rule 23(b). Id,; Charles Wright, Arthur Miller, and Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil 2d § 1759 (1986). Thus, the action sought to be brought as a class action must be such that (a) the prosecution of separate actions by or against individual members of the class would create a risk of incompatible or varying adjudications with respect to the individual member or adjudications which would necessarily implicate the rights of other members not party to the action; (b) the opposing party has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class as a whole; or (c) the court finds that the questions of law or fact common to the members of the class as a whole predominate over any questions affecting only individual members and that a class action is the most efficacious method of adjudication. Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b).

For purposes of determining a motion for class certification, the court will deem true all of the allegations in the complaint. Johns v. DeLeonardis, 145 F.R.D. 480, 482 (N.D.Ill.1992). Moreover, the court will not consider the merits of the case; rather, the court focuses on whether the certification requirements. are satisfied. In re VMS Sec. Litig., 136 F.R.D. 466, 473 (N.D.Ill.1991). If the party seeking class certification meets each of the certification requirements, the court must certify the proposed class. Vickers v. Trainor, 546 F.2d 739, 747 (7th Cir.1976); Fujishima v. Board of Educ., 460 F.2d 1355, 1360 (7th Cir.1972). However, the court has broad discretion concerning whether a proposed class satisfies certification requirements. See Patterson v. General Motors Corp., 631 F.2d 476, 480 (7th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 451 U.S. 914, 101 S.Ct. 1988, 68 L.Ed.2d 304 (1981).

Background

Plaintiffs bring this lawsuit seeking injunctive and monetary relief from defendants’ unlawful racketeering activities aimed at driving the class clinics, including DWHO and Summit, out of business-either temporarily or permanently-and thereby preventing women from availing themselves of the services provided by those clinics. DWHO and Summit also seek damages to compensate themselves and the Clinic Class for costs incurred to defend against defendants’ illegal conduct, and for damage to their property caused by defendants and their coconspirators.

Plaintiffs seek class-wide relief against defendants Joseph M. Scheidler (“Scheidler”); Randall A. Terry (“Terry”); Andrew Scholberg (“Scholberg”); Timothy Murphy (“Murphy”); Monica Migliorino (“Migliorino”); Pro-Life Action League, Incorporated (“PLAL”); Project Life, Incorporated (“Project Life”); and Operation Rescue (“OR”) (collectively, the “defendants”), for their violations of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. § 1962.

For a more detailed account of the facts and the procedural history of the underlying action, see generally, N.O.W. v. Scheidler, 510 U.S. 249, 114 S.Ct. 798, 127 L.Ed.2d 99 (1994); N.O.W. v. Scheidler, 968 F.2d 612, 614, 625-30 (7th Cir.1992), cert. granted, 508 U.S. 971, 113 S.Ct. 2958, 125 L.Ed.2d 659 (1993); N.O.W. v. Scheidler, 897 F.Supp. 1047 (N.D.Ill.1995); N.O.W. v. Schiedler, 1995 WL 59228 (N.D.Ill. Feb. 10, 1995).

In opposition to plaintiffs’ motion for class certification, defendants Terry, PL, and OR (collectively, “defendants TPO”) jointly filed a Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification (“TPO Memo”). Defendants Scheidler, Scholberg, Mui'phy, and the PLAL (collectively, “defendants SSMP”) jointly filed a response to plaintiffs’ motion for class certification (“SSMP Resp.”). In addition, defendant Migliorino, individually, filed a memorandum of law in opposition to plaintiffs’ motion for class certification (“Migl.Memo”) in which she expressly adopts all assertions and arguments of her codefendants relating to plain[357]*357tiffs’ motion for class certification. (Migl. Memo, at 1).

Discussion

1. Propriety of the Proposed Classes

As noted above, parties seeking class certification must prove that the proposed class satisfies the requirements of (1) numerosity, (2) commonality, (3) typicality, and (4) adequate representation under Rule 23(a), and fits into one of the three categories of Rule 23(b). However, as a precursor to this analysis, the Court must determine whether an implicit requirement of Rule 23(a) has been met-the “definiteness” requirement. See Alliance to End Repression v. Rockford, 565 F.2d 975, 977 (7th Cir.1977). Indeed, “[b]efore a class can be certified, the party seeking certification must show that an identifiable class exists. An identifiable class exists if its members can be ascertained by reference to objective criteria. A class description is insufficient, however, if membership is contingent on the prospective member’s state of mind.” Gomez v. Illinois State Bd. of Educ.,

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172 F.R.D. 351, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4036, 1997 WL 158323, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-organization-for-women-inc-v-scheidler-ilnd-1997.