Weinberger v. Jackson

102 F.R.D. 839, 40 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 779
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedAugust 7, 1984
DocketNo. C-83-20411-WAI
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 102 F.R.D. 839 (Weinberger v. Jackson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Weinberger v. Jackson, 102 F.R.D. 839, 40 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 779 (N.D. Cal. 1984).

Opinion

ORDER

INGRAM, District Judge.

Plaintiff moves for certification of plaintiff and defendant-underwriter classes pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23 and Local Rule 200-6 1 in this action for violations of the federal securities laws and state claims.2

[842]*842I. ORDER OF CERTIFICATION

In accordance with the discussion herein:

1. a plaintiff class is certified under Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3) as comprising all purchasers of the common stock of defendant Altos Computer Systems who made such purchases between November 4, 1982 and conditionally to January 20, 1983, inclusive, but excluding, as to the claims under the California Corporations Code (Sections 25400 and 25500),3 plaintiff purchasers who did not purchase the initial offering of Altos stock. Class certification for those purchasers seeking relief under California state fraud and negligence claims shall be subject to amendment or alteration at such time as it appears on motion of the parties, or otherwise, that litigation thereof proves unmanageable or not otherwise suitable for class action prosecution. Excluded entirely from the plaintiff class are defendants herein, members of defendants’ immediate families, any entity controlled by defendants, and defendants’ legal representatives, heirs, successors and assigns;

2. a defendant-underwriter class is certified, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3), with respect to the claims brought under § 11 of the 1933 Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77k, and pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(1), with respect only to the issue of whether the subject Registration Statement and Prospectus contained material misstatements or omissions that constitute violations of § 12(2) of the 1933 Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. § Til. Defendants L.F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin, and Robertson, Colman, Stephens and Woodman shall represent the entire underwriter class.

II. BACKGROUND

This action alleges material misrepresentations and omissions in the November 4, 1982, Registration Statement and Prospectus of a public offering of 3.3 million shares of defendant Altos Computer Systems (“ALTOS”), a manufacturer of personal computers.

Plaintiff William Weinberger purchased 165 shares of Altos pursuant to the November offering at a cost of $21 per share. In six claims for relief,4 plaintiff avers, inter alia, that the defendants failed to disclose that ALTOS’ latest computer models were not yet ready for shipment due to production difficulties, were encountering software design problems, and were encountering higher than anticipated advertising and promotional costs.5 As a result, plaintiff claims the offering and open market prices of Altos stock were artificially inflated.

III. DISCUSSION

Federal securities laws class actions are enjoying great popularity based largely, it appears, upon the rise in the number of new high technology stock issues.6 This [843]*843judicial district is currently entertaining numerous cases concerning Stock Issues of companies located in the Santa Clara county area known as “Silicon Valley.”7 A review of those cases, in particular their pleadings and procedural posture, indicates a need to promote consistency and judicial economy toward resolving this complex litigation. I endeavor to set some parameters in this discussion with regard to class certification in hope of furthering these ends.

At the outset, initial certification of a class is a limited matter. A court must not consider the merits of the underlying action when determining class certification. See Eisen v. Carlisle-Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 178, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 2152, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974) (Eisen IV); Blackie v. Barrack, 524 F.2d 891, 901 (9th Cir.1975) cert. denied, 429 U.S. 816, 97 S.Ct. 57, 50 L.Ed.2d 75 (1976). The rationale of the federal and local class action rules is based largely on imparting early notice of the pendency of an action and has nothing to do with whether a plaintiff may ultimately prevail. A defendant can be assured, at the least, that the onus of cost and implementation of notice placed upon a plaintiff as well as the general complexity of the case will deter the filing of frivolous class actions. Further, a defendant is never denied the opportunity to challenge the merits of the action by appropriate pre-trial motions.

Moreover, a cursory reading of Rule 23 indicates that class certification is, by definition, transient:

“As soon as practicable after the commencement of an action brought as a class action, the court shall determine by order whether it is to be so maintained. An order under this subsection may be conditional, and may be altered or amended before the decision on the merits. Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(c)(1).8” (Emphasis, added.)

Finally, I do not believe the parties opposing class certification should engage in assaults upon the character of either the prospective class representative or his counsel. Nor do I believe lengthy and expensive discourses on well-settled principles or string citations are necessary to convey a point. In this case, plaintiffs opening brief for certification of a plaintiff class adequately set forth, in 25 pages, compliance with Rule 23, as did plaintiffs 23-page brief regarding suitability of a defendant class. The defendants’ response was a bludgeoning 63 pages9 of implicit epithets levied against plaintiff and his able counsel and, as will be discussed below, legally unsupportable contentions given this stage of the proceeding. Plaintiff was constrained to file a 67-page reply brief to protect the integrity of his position. Defendants then filed a 37-page rebuttal memorandum, reiterating many issues. A great amount of unnecessary language has been added to this matter which tends to create an atmosphere of acrimony which is incompatible with conducting complex litigation. See e.g. Peil v. Speiser, 97 F.R.D. 657, 661 (E.D.Pa.1983) (“Name-calling and insulting innuendos serve no purpose in a lawsuit, tend to distract parties from the [844]*844real issues at hand and create an atmosphere of ill-will not conducive to the proper conduct of a complex action ... where cooperation among counsel is especially necessary.”). The balance of this action should be conducted with these ground rules in mind. Counsel are directed to read and comply with the mandate of Fed.R. Civ.P. 11 (eff. Aug. 1983), prior to filing any other pleadings or motions with the court.

A.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
102 F.R.D. 839, 40 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 779, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weinberger-v-jackson-cand-1984.