Shaver v. Standard Oil Co.

623 N.E.2d 602, 89 Ohio App. 3d 52, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 3275
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 30, 1993
DocketNo. H-92-15.
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 623 N.E.2d 602 (Shaver v. Standard Oil Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shaver v. Standard Oil Co., 623 N.E.2d 602, 89 Ohio App. 3d 52, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 3275 (Ohio Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

Handwork, Judge.

This case has previously been considered on appeal by this court. Shaver v. Standard Oil Co. (1990), 68 Ohio App.3d 783, 589 N.E.2d 1348. This case began on October 13, 1981 when appellant, Kenneth B. Shaver, filed a complaint against appellee, the Standard Oil Company, in the Huron County Court of Common ■ Pleas. Appellant included allegations in his complaint that appellee had violated state antitrust laws, had breached a fiduciary duty, had violated the Consumer Sales Practices Act, and had tortiously interfered in business relationships. Each of the allegations related to dealings by appellee with appellant while he leased a full-service gas station from appellee and operated it as an independent dealer. Appellant alleged, in essence, that appellee had engaged in practices which were designed to force appellant out of business so that appellee could convert its leased station into a company-owned and -operated station.

Subsequent to filing the complaint, appellant sought certification of a class to pursue all four causes of action against appellee on behalf of all past and present independent dealers with whom appellee contracted, alleging that appellee had a goal of forcing all of the independent dealers in the class out of business. On November 21, 1989, the trial court filed a judgment entry containing the court’s *55 denial of the class certification request. Appellant filed an appeal to this court. On October 19, 1990 this court issued a decision and judgment entry in which the decision of the trial court was reversed, and the case was remanded for further proceedings. Id. at 799, 589 N.E.2d at 1358.

Appellant and appellee then filed post-remand briefs in the trial court. Appellant narrowed the scope of the requested class certification to include only past independent dealers who contracted with appellee to lease and operate gas stations owned by appellee. On March 12, 1992, the Huron County Court of Common Pleas filed a judgment entry in which the request for class certification was denied. Appellant then brought this appeal, presenting one assignment of error for consideration, which is:

“The trial court abused its discretion when it determined that none of plaintiffs four causes of action merited class action treatment.”

Appellant contends that the trial court erred when it denied class certification in this case on the basis (1) that appellant did not demonstrate that his claims were typical to the claims of the class, a requirement found in Civ.R. 23(A)(3); (2) that an inconsistent course of conduct could not be imposed upon appellee if all claims of former independent dealers were tried separately, rather than as a class action, thereby precluding the application of Civ.R. 23(B)(1)(a) in this case; (3) that the requirement of predominance of common questions over individual questions, found in Civ.R. 23(B)(3), was not met in this case. As to the issue of common questions versus individual questions, appellant argues that the trial court applied improper standards in determining that individual questions were predominant for each of the four causes of action raised by appellant. First, appellant argues that there is no requirement in an antitrust action based upon “tying violations” that there be proof of individual coercion on a case-by-case basis and that the trial court erred when it concluded that proof of individual coercion would be needed. Second, appellant argues that the trial court erred when it ruled that the existence of a fiduciary duty could only be shown by “examining the state of mind of each member of the class.” Third, appellant argues that the trial court erred when it ruled that proof of individual coercion would be required for the claim brought pursuant to the Consumer Sales Practices Act. And fourth, appellant argues that the trial court made the same error of applying an incorrect standard when it ruled that tortious interference with a business relationship would require a case-by-case showing of how appellee’s actions deprived individual dealers of customers. Appellee argued that the trial court ruled properly in all respects and that class certification was properly denied in this case.

As we noted in the previous appeal in this case, our standard of review for an appeal from a decision regarding class certification is whether the trial court *56 abused its discretion. Id., 68 Ohio App.3d at 793, 589 N.E.2d at 1354. That is, we must determine “whether the denial of certification was arbitrary, unreasonable or unconscionable.” Id., citing Marks v. C.P. Chemical Co. (1987), 31 Ohio St.3d 200, 201, 31 OBR 398, 399, 509 N.E.2d 1249,1252. Keeping this standard in mind, we will consider each argument raised by appellant.

The first argument raised by appellant relates to whether appellant meets the requirement of Civ.R. 23(A)(3) that “the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of all of the claims or defenses of the class * * *.” As this court noted on the previous appeal, a party seeking class certification must demonstrate seven prerequisites including:

“(1) that the class be identifiable and that the definition of the class be unambiguous, and (2) that the class representative(s) be a member or members of the class. * * * [EJxplicit requirements are set forth in Civ.R. 23(A) and are (1) numerosity, ie., the parties are so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable; (2) commonality, ie., there are questions of law or fact common to the class; (3) typicality, ie., the claims or defenses of the representatives are typical of the claims or defenses of the class; and (4) the representatives will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. * * * The analysis under this last prerequisite is divided into a consideration of the adequacy of the representative(s) and the adequacy of counsel. * * * The final prerequisite is a determination of whether one of the Civ.R. 23(B) requirements is met.” (Citations omitted; emphasis sic.) Id., 68 Ohio App.3d at 793-794, 589 N.E.2d at 1355.

This .court went on to note:

“Clearly, from the record before us the trial court could readily find that the prerequisite of numerosity had been met with a class of over forty individuals. * * * In addition, this was an identifiable, ie., not ambiguous, class and the plaintiff Kenneth Shaver was a member or representative of the class.

“As to commonality, courts require only a ‘common nucleus of operative facts’ to fulfill this prerequisite. * * * Appellant alleged that Standard engaged in a common course of conduct toward all dealers and set forth legal issues, e.g., breach of fiduciary duty, restraint of trade, tortious interference with business relationships, violations of the Consumer Sales Practices Act, common to the class. * * * Griffin [a former corporate vice president of Standard] testified that the preprinted portions of the leases did not vary and was unable to cite any instance where the terms of the agreement had varied.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Sterling Constr., Inc. v. Alkire
2014 Ohio 2897 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
Globe Surgical Supply v. GEICO Insurance
59 A.D.3d 129 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2008)
Johnson v. Microsoft Corp.
802 N.E.2d 712 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2003)
Burns v. Prudential Securities, Inc.
763 N.E.2d 234 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2001)
Shaver v. Standard Oil Company
733 N.E.2d 645 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1999)
Icsc Partners, L.P. v. Kenwood Plaza L.P.
688 N.E.2d 5 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1996)
State ex rel. Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Starcher
474 S.E.2d 186 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1996)
STATE EX REL. METLIFE v. Starcher
474 S.E.2d 186 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 1996)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
623 N.E.2d 602, 89 Ohio App. 3d 52, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 3275, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shaver-v-standard-oil-co-ohioctapp-1993.