Rugumbwa v. Betten Motor Sales

200 F.R.D. 358, 2001 WL 385086
District Court, W.D. Michigan·Decided March 29, 2001·No. No. 1:00-CV-363·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

OPINION

BRENNEMAN, United States Magistrate Judge.

Plaintiff, Sylvester Rugambwa, claims that defendant Betten Motor Sales (“Betten”) violated provisions of the Truth In Lending Act (“TILA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq., and various state statutes with respect to his July 10, 1999, purchase of a 1991 Toyota Camry. This matter is before the court on plaintiffs motion for class certification (docket no. 8).

I. Background

Plaintiff alleges in his second amended class action complaint that as part of his vehicle purchase, Betten charged plaintiff $1,495.00 for a vehicle service contract, also known as an “extended warranty.” The retail installment contract for the vehicle listed the extended warranty in the category of “Itemization of Amount Financed” and subcategory of “Insurance Premiums Paid to Others on my Behalf,” making the representation that the $1,495.00 charge would be paid to a third party to procure coverage. Contrary to the representation set forth in the installment contract, Betten did not pay the full $1,495.00 to a third party; rather Betten paid the warranty company $751.00 for the extended warranty and retained $744.00 as a “secret profit” or “upcharge.” Betten did not disclose this upcharge to plaintiff. Plaintiff alleges that Betten’s misrepresentation of the extended warranty purchase price violated the disclosure requirement of TILA, § 1638(a)(21)(B)(iii) and Regulation Z, 12 C.F.R. §§ 226.17(a)(1) and 226.18(c). Plaintiff seeks statutory and actual damages for this violation.

In addition, plaintiff has invoked this court’s supplemental jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1367 for several state law claims, which include: violations of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, Mich. Comp. Laws § 445.901 et seq.; violations of the Michigan Motor Vehicle Installment Sales Contract Act, Mich. Comp. Laws § 566 .302; violations of the Michigan Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act, Mich. Comp. Laws § 492.101 et seq.; a count for “replevin” seeking a refund or credit to principal of finance charges received by defendant under the installment contract or a refund of the illegal “upcharges” collected by defendant; a count for. unjust enrichment; and, violations of the Michigan Credit Reform Act, Mich. Comp. Laws § 445.1851 et seq.

[361]*361II. Class Certification under FED. R. CIV. P. 23

Plaintiff seeks to certify a class action pursuant to FED. R. CIV. P. 23, which provides that one or more members of a class may sue as representative parties on behalf of all members of a class. FED. R. CIV. P. 23(a) lists the four prerequisites which must be met to maintain a class action:

One or more members of a class may sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf of all only if (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all parties 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.

These four requirements are referred to as “numerosity, commonality, typicality and adequacy of representation.” Peters v. Cars To Go, Inc., 184 F.R.D. 270, 275 (W.D.Mich.1998). “A court may certify a class action only if all four requirements are met.” Lozada v. Dale Baker Oldsmobile, Inc., 197 F.R.D. 321, 327 (W.D.Mich.2000), citing In re American Medical Systems, Inc., 75 F.3d 1069, 1079 (6th Cir.1996).

If each of the four requirements of Rule 23(a) is met, the party seeking certification must also show that the action falls within one of the categories listed in Rule 23(b). Here, plaintiff attempts to show that the action falls within FED. R. CIV. P. 23(b)(2) and 23(b)(3). Rule 23(b)(2) provides that a class action may be maintained if

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[J

Rule 23(b)(3) provides that a class action may be maintained if

the court finds that the 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 superior 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.

While a district court has broad discretion in deciding whether to certify a class, it may not certify the class without performing a rigorous analysis of the Rule 23 requirements. See Sprague v. General Motors Corp., 133 F.3d 388, 397 (6th Cir.1998) (en banc); Lozada, 197 F.R.D. at 327. The party seeking class certification bears the burden of proof. Peters, 184 F.R.D. at 275. It has been stated that “[i]n determining whether to certify a class action, the district court must accept as true the allegations of plaintiffs’ complaint and resolve doubts in favor of plaintiffs.” Lozada, 197 F.R.D. at 327. However, “sometimes it may be necessary for the court to probe behind the pleadings before coming to rest on the certification question.” General Tel. Co. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 160, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982).

Maintainability may be determined by the court on the basis of the pleadings, if sufficient facts are set forth, but ordinarily the determination should be predicated on more information than the pleadings will provide____The parties should be afforded an opportunity to present evidence on the maintainability of the class action.

American Medical Systems, Inc., 75 F.3d at 1079, quoting Weathers v. Peters Realty Corp., 499 F.2d 1197, 1200 (6th Cir.1974).

Here, plaintiffs propose that the following class be certified:

(a) All persons who executed a retail installment sales contract for the purchase of a motor vehicle from Betten Motor Sales, Inc.; (b) in a transaction that included the purchase of a vehicle service con[362]

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Rugumbwa v. Betten Motor Sales, 200 F.R.D. 358, 2001 WL 385086 (W.D. Mich. 2001).

200 F.R.D. 358 (Rugumbwa v. Betten Motor Sales) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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