Young v. Fortis Plastics, LLC

294 F.R.D. 128, 36 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1634, 2013 WL 5406275, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137070
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedSeptember 24, 2013
DocketNo. 3:12-CV-364 JD CAN
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 294 F.R.D. 128 (Young v. Fortis Plastics, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Young v. Fortis Plastics, LLC, 294 F.R.D. 128, 36 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1634, 2013 WL 5406275, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137070 (N.D. Ind. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JON E. DEGUILIO, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on a Motion for Class Certification filed by Plaintiff Jim Young (“Mr. Young”). [DE 32, 33.] Defendant Fortis Plastics, LLC (“Fortis”), opposes certification of the Plaintiffs proposed class and subclass.1 [DE 42.] Mr. Young filed a reply in support of his motion. [DE 48.] Also pending is a Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss Mr. Young’s Amended Complaint filed by Monomoy. [DE 35, 36.] Mr. Young filed a Memorandum in Opposition, [DE 39], and Monomoy filed a Reply in Further Support, [DE 40], Mr. Young’s Motion for Class Certification and Monomoy’s Motion to Dismiss were each filed on January 25, 2013.

As an initial matter, the Court must determine in which order to rule on the two pending motions. Rule 23 requires that “at an early practicable time after a person sues or is sued as a class representative, the court must determine by order whether to certify the action as a class action.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(e)(1)(A). While a court sometimes has the discretion to decide a Rule 12(b)(6) motion before determining whether to certify a putative class, McReynolds v. Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., 694 F.3d 873, 879 n. 4 (7th Cir. 2012), the Court here determines that judicial economy is best served by first addressing the question of class certification and then addressing Monomoy’s pending Motion to Dismiss. That ordering is especially appropriate in this case, where Monomoy’s Motion to Dismiss does not attack Mr. Young individually, but relies on grounds generally applicable to all members of the putative class.

Accordingly, the Court here addresses Mr. Young’s Motion for Class Certification. The Court will follow this Opinion and Order shortly with a decision on Monomoy’s Motion to Dismiss.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

This case arises out of the closure of a plastic components manufacturing facility previously located on South U Street in Fort Smith, Arkansas (the “Fort Smith Facility”). What does not appear to be in dispute is that Mr. Young worked at the Fort Smith Facility, along with approximately 90 other individuals. In late October 2011, the Fort Smith Facility ceased operations. As a result, Mr. Young and the other employees at the Fort Smith Facility lost their jobs.

What is in dispute in this case is (1) which company or companies constituted the “employer” of Mr. Young and the other employees at the Fort Smith Facility and (2) whether the closing of the Fort Smith Facility violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN Act”), 29 U.S.C. § 2101.

On June 29, 2012, Mr. Young filed a Class Action Complaint against Fortis, alleging [132]*132that Fortis had failed to provide sufficient notice, as required by the WARN Act before closing the Fort Smith Facility. [DE 1.] Mr. Young sued on his behalf, and on the behalf of “the class of those similarly situated.” [DE 1 at 1.] On November 9, 2012, Mr. Young filed a First Amended Class Action Complaint in which he added Monomoy as a defendant and alleged that Fortis and Monomoy served as the “single employer” of Mr. Young and the others working at the Fort Smith Facility. [DE 22.] Mr. Young seeks, on behalf of himself and the class, wages and benefits as allowed under the WARN Act, a declaratory judgment that Fortis and Monomoy wrongfully failed to pay wages and benefits, interest, and attorney fees. [DE 22 at 7-8.]

This Court has jurisdiction over Mr. Young’s WARN Act claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1331.

II. ANALYSIS

Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governs the certification of class actions in federal court. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 2541, 2548, 180 L.Ed.2d 374 (2011). Rule 23(a) ensures that the named plaintiffs are appropriate representatives of the class whose claims they wish to litigate. Id. at 2550. The Rule’s four requirements — numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy — effectively limit the class claims to those fairly encompassed by the named plaintiffs claims. Id. (citations and internal quotations omitted). If all of these prerequisites are met, a court must also find that at least one of the subsections of Rule 23(b) is satisfied. In this case, Mr. Young seeks class certification under Rule 23(b)(2) and Rule 23(b)(3). Rule 23(b) (2) applies when “the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds that apply generally to the class, so that final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief is appropriate respecting the class as a whole.” Rule 23(b)(3) applies when “the court finds that the questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual members, and that a class action is superior to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy.” “Failure to meet any of the Rule’s requirements precludes class certification.” Arreola v. Godinez, 546 F.3d 788, 794 (7th Cir.2008). The Plaintiff, as the party seeking class certification, assumes the burden of demonstrating that certification is appropriate. Trotter v. Klincar, 748 F.2d 1177, 1184 (7th Cir.1984); Dukes, 131 S.Ct. at 2551 (“A party seeking class certification must affirmatively demonstrate his compliance with the Rule — that is, he must be prepared to prove that there are in fact sufficiently numerous parties, common questions of law or fact, etc.”).

A district court has broad discretion to determine whether certification of a class action lawsuit is appropriate. Arreola, 546 F.3d at 794. The United States Supreme Court has made clear, however, that the district court is to perform a “rigorous analysis” to determine that the prerequisites of Rule 23 are satisfied when a class is to be certified because actual, not presumed, conformance with Rule 23(a) remains indispensable. Dukes, 131 S.Ct. at 2551-52 (citing Gen. Tel. Co. of Sw. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 160-61, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982)). Frequently, that “rigorous analysis” will entail some overlap with the merits of the plaintiffs underlying claim, and this cannot be helped. Id. (noting that sometimes Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 177, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974) is mistakenly cited for the proposition that the merits of the claims for relief may not be considered in adjudicating the motion for class certification, and clarifying that such a proposition is “the purest dictum and is contradicted by other cases”). The purpose of the “rigorous analysis” is not to test the merits of the claim, however, but to determine whether the claim meets the requirements of Rule 23(a). See Szabo v.

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294 F.R.D. 128, 36 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1634, 2013 WL 5406275, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137070, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/young-v-fortis-plastics-llc-innd-2013.