Singer v. AT & T Corp.

185 F.R.D. 681, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22311, 1998 WL 953732
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedMarch 4, 1998
DocketNo. 95-2738-CIV-KEHOE
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 185 F.R.D. 681 (Singer v. AT & T Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Singer v. AT & T Corp., 185 F.R.D. 681, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22311, 1998 WL 953732 (S.D. Fla. 1998).

Opinion

ORDER

KEHOE, Senior District Judge.

FOR THE REASONS stated in the Report and Recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge, and upon an independent review of the file, it is

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Plaintiffs Motion for Class Certification [Docket No. 12] is GRANTED. It is

FURTHER ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that all pending motions that have not heretofore been ruled upon, except for the Defendant’s Motion for Protective Order to Prohibit the Deposition of John D. Zeglls, Esq. [Docket No. 136], are DENIED as moot.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

GARBER, United States Magistrate Judge.

THIS MATTER is before this Court on Plaintiffs Motion for Class Certification. An Order of Reference was entered by United States District Judge Joan Lenard on April 12, 1996. The case was subsequently transferred to United States District Judge Ke-hoe. This Court has reviewed the numerous submissions by the parties and held a lengthy hearing on September 30,1997.

ALLEGED FACTS

AT & T has for many years, upon customer’s request, installed or connected two or more phone lines in homes and businesses throughout the United States. In order to install two or more phone lines to multiple telephone sets at a home or office, AT & T would utilize what is known as “key common equipment -1st 4 lines” (“key equipment”).1 Key equipment made it possible to transmit and receive interstate telephone transmissions on more than one line connected to more than one telephone at a single location. One piece of key equipment is all that was necessary for the first four lines at a home or business. Additional key equipment was required when a customer desired more than four fines connected to multiple telephones at a single location.

Plaintiff Lenore Deutch Singer (“Singer”) had two fines installed in her home utilizing a single key equipment unit. Singer received two separate bills for the two lines installed in her home. Both bills reflected monthly charges for the leasing of key equipment. In essence, Singer was allegedly billed twice for the same equipment.

Singer instituted this class action on her behalf and on behalf of all persons and entities overcharged for key equipment by AT & T after January 1,1984.2 Singer alleges that AT & T is liable for violations of the RICO Act, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.

On August 21, 1996, this Court deferred ruling on Plaintiffs Motion for Class Certification, and allowed discovery limited solely to the certification issues. As a result of such discovery, AT & T produced spreadsheets from its computerized billing system identifying customers that were billed more than once per key equipment at the same installation location address in a single billing cycle. The spreadsheets provided a fist of 30,000 past and present AT & T customers who were billed twice for key equipment at the same installation location address in a single billing cycle.

DISCUSSION

Class actions serve three essential purposes: (1) to facilitate judicial economy [685]*685by the avoidance of multiple suits on the same subject matter; (2) to provide a feasible means for asserting the rights of those who would have no realistic day in court if a class action were not available; and (3) to deter inconsistent results, assuring a uniform, singular determination of rights and liabilities. American Pipe and Constr., Co. v. Utah, 414 U.S. 538, 550, 94 S.Ct. 756, 38 L.Ed.2d 713 (1974); Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts, 472 U.S. 797, 105 S.Ct. 2965, 86 L.Ed.2d 628 (1985); First Federal of Michigan v. Barrow, 878 F.2d 912, 919 (6th Cir. 1989). Class certification is strictly a procedural matter and the merits of the claims at stake are not to be considered when determining the propriety of the class action vehicle. Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974).

“Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, a class action determination is left to the sound discretion of the district court. The district court’s decision is reversible only when it abuses its discretion.” Jaffree v. Wallace, 705 F.2d 1526, 1536 (11th Cir.1983); Gulf Oil Co. v. Bernard, 452 U.S. 89, 100, 101 S.Ct. 2193, 68 L.Ed.2d 693 (1981); Lawler v. Alexander, 698 F.2d 439, 441 (11th Cir.1983) In reaching the class certification decision, the district court may consider both the allegations of the complaint and the supplemental evidentiary submissions of the parties. Blackie v. Barrack, 524 F.2d 891, 901 n. 17 (9th Cir.1975). Doubts regarding the propriety of class certification should be resolved in favor of certification. 4 H. NEWBERG & A. CONTE, NEWBERG ON CLASS ACTIONS § 7540 (3d ed.1992); Esplin v. Hirschi, 402 F.2d 94, 99 (10th Cir.1968) Class certification is conditional only, and if it appears through discovery that certification was improvidently granted, options such as decertification or revised certification are always available to the district court. Fed. R.Civ.P. 23(c)(1).

I. Class Definition.

Rule 23 governs the certification process. Before considering the requirements of Rule 23, however, a court' must determine whether a class exists that can adequately be defined. DeBremaecker v. Short, 433 F.2d 733, 734 (5th Cir.1970). Establishing an early definition of the class serves two functions: (1) it enables the court to determine whether the ease is suitable for certification; and (2) it “insures that those actually harmed by defendants’ wrongful conduct will be recipients of the relief eventually provided.” Simer v. Rios, 661 F.2d 655, 670 (7th Cir.1981).

It is generally acknowledged that a class must be capable of ready identification. De-Bremaecker, 433 F.2d at 734. Class definition is of critical importance because it identifies the persons who are entitled to relief, bound by a final judgment and entitled to notice in a Rule 23(b)(3) action. MANUAL FOR COMPLEX LITIGATION, THIRD § 30.14 (1995). Thus, class definition is an implicit requirement which must be met before a Rule 23 analysis can be undertaken by the district court. In re A.H. Robins Co., 880 F.2d 709, 728 (4th Cir.1989); Joseph v. General Motors Corp., 109 F.R.D. 635, 638 (D.Colo.1986).

The definition requirement is problematic. “Not only is Rule 23 silent as to what constitutes a class, but the courts have not attempted to provide an exact definition of the term.” 7A CHARLES A. WRIGHT, ET AL.,

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Bluebook (online)
185 F.R.D. 681, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22311, 1998 WL 953732, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/singer-v-at-t-corp-flsd-1998.