Yadlosky v. Grant Thornton L.L.P.

197 F.R.D. 292, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3872, 2000 WL 1683366
District Court, E.D. Michigan·Decided March 21, 2000·No. No. 99-CV-76337·Published·Cited by 17 cases

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

STEEH, District Judge.

Plaintiff David Yadlosky moves for class certification pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a) and 23(b)(3). For the reasons set forth below, plaintiffs motion will be DENIED.

[295] BACKGROUND

Plaintiff David Yadlosky filed a thirteen count second amended complaint on January 3, 2000 alleging he spent $522,822.00 for various MCA Financial Corporation (“MCA”) securities during a period from May 10, 1993 through September 12, 1997. The securities included series “A” and series “B” preferred stock, shares in limited partnerships, 11% corporate bonds, and “pass-through-pools” (“pool certificates”). The defendants are two certified public accounting firms that performed financial audits for MCA, ten securities brokers/dealers that sold MCA securities to investors, and individual officers and directors of MCA. Plaintiff Yadlosky alleges the defendants misrepresented MCA’s financial condition and the value of MCA securities, thereby inducing investors to purchase MCA securities. Specifically, plaintiff alleges: violations of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, § 10(b), 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), Rule 10b-5, 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5, as promulgated thereunder, and § 20(a) of the Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78t(a) (Counts I and II), breach of fiduciary duty and co-conspiracy (Count III), common law fraud (Count IV), negligent misrepresentation (Count V), suppression of truth (Count VI), deceit (Count VII), negligent and wanton supervision (Count VIII), negligent supervision (Count IX), violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq. (Count X), state securities fraud in violation of M.C.L. § 451.501 and M.C.L. § 451.810 (Counts XI-XII), and third-party beneficiary liability for breach of contract in avoidance of Michigan’s Accountant Liability Act, M.C.L. § 600.2961. MCA is now in bankruptcy, and is not a party to this lawsuit. By Order of February 16, 1999, and pursuant to the Public Securities Litigation Reform Act (“PSLRA”), 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4, plaintiff Yadlosky was appointed lead plaintiff, and the Law Offices of Michael P. Marsalese, Esq. were appointed lead counsel.

MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

Plaintiff moves under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a) and 23(b)(3) to certify this lawsuit as a class action with a proposed class of 2811 investors that purchased MCA securities from January 1, 1986 through January 28, 1999. Rules 23(a) and 23(b)(3) provide:

Rule 23. Class Actions
(a) Prerequisites to 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 members 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.
(b) Class Actions Maintainable. An action may be maintained as a class action if the prerequisites of subdivision (a) are satisfied, and in addition:...
(3) 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.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a), 23(b)(3). A district court enjoys broad discretion in certifying class actions, but must exercise this discretion within the framework of Rule 23. When evaluating whether to certify the class, the district court must take the allegations of plaintiffs as true, with any doubts resolved in favor of certification. See Iron Workers Local Union No. 17 Ins. Fund v. Philip Morris Co., 29 F.Supp.2d 825, 830 (N.D.Ohio 1998) (citing Cross v. National Trust Life Ins. Co., 553 F.2d 1026, 1029 (6th Cir.1977)). The [296] court must perform a “rigorous analysis”. Sprague v. General Motors Corp., 133 F.3d 388, 397 (6th Cir.1998). The plaintiff has the burden of showing that all of the requirements for class certification have been met. See Ballan v. Upjohn Co., 159 F.R.D. 473, 478 (W.D.Mich.1994).

I. Predominance of Individual Issues — Rule 23(b)(3)

A. Reliance

The defendants’ primary argument against class certification is that, to recover on the federal securities fraud claims, plaintiff Yadlosky will be required to prove each of the proposed 2811 class members’ individual reliance in separate “mini-trials” because plaintiff is not entitled to a presumption of reliance applicable in “fraud-on-the market” cases. Defendants maintain these individual reliance issues will predominate over issues of fact and law common to the class, making class action certification inappropriate.

In Basic Incorporated v. Levinson, 485 U.S. 224, 108 S.Ct. 978, 99 L.Ed.2d 194 (1988), the Supreme Court recognized that reliance is an element of a § 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 securities fraud claim, providing “the requisite causal connection between a defendant’s misrepresentation and a plaintiffs injury.” Id. at 243, 108 S.Ct. 978. The Court continued:

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Yadlosky v. Grant Thornton L.L.P., 197 F.R.D. 292, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3872, 2000 WL 1683366 (E.D. Mich. 2000).

197 F.R.D. 292 (Yadlosky v. Grant Thornton L.L.P.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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