Zandman v. Joseph

102 F.R.D. 924, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24055
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedAugust 28, 1984
DocketCiv. A. Nos. S83-0039, S83-0087
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 102 F.R.D. 924 (Zandman v. Joseph) 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
Zandman v. Joseph, 102 F.R.D. 924, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24055 (N.D. Ind. 1984).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM and ORDER

ALLEN SHARP, Chief Judge.

This cause is before the Court on the motion for class certification of plaintiffs, Dr. Irwin Zandman, D.D.S. [Zandman] and Salvatore Laurenzano [Laurenzano]. Plaintiffs allege that commencing September 25, 1980 and continuing through January 12, 1983, defendants Cíele J. Joseph, Donald C. Hoodes, Charles E. Hussey, William R. White, William Blackie, L. Roy Papp, Richard L. Sandin, Samuel D. Duame, Alvin Pontius, James C. Huntington, Jr. and Sullair Corporation were responsible for publicly disseminating information containing a series of material misrepresentations and omissions regarding Sullair’s progress in the design, development, testing and marketability of the Downhole Steam Generator [DSG]. Defendants oppose the motion generally and raise numerous defenses on their behalf. For the reasons discussed below, plaintiffs’ motion for class certification is denied.

I.

Zandman initiated this action by filing a complaint January 28,1983 docketed in this court as Civil No. S83-39. Thereafter, Laurenzano filed suit, Civil No. S83-37, on March 1, 1983. On May 11, 1983, this Court entered an order consolidating both causes. Count I of the complaint arises under Section 10[b] of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 78j[b], and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated thereunder. Count II alleges violations of common law fraud. Defendant Sullair is a corporation organized under Indiana law. At all times relevant to this action, Sullair was engaged in the design, manufacture, sale and rental of rotary screw air and gas compressors used in the oil and gas industry among others. At issue in this action is the development and testing of a downhole steam generator for the enhanced recovery of oil. When completed, the DSG was designed to inject steam heat below the land surface near a deposit of oil in order to thin out heavy crude thereby forcing oil deposits more freely to the surface. In essence, the DSG was designed to reach less accessible oil deposits. The individual defendants listed here were directors of Sullair during the proposed class period.1

The complaint specifically alleges that during the period commencing September 25, 1980, the date of the public issuance of a Sullair press release reporting the successful testing of the DSG, through and including January 12, 1983, the approximate date of the issuance of a Sullair press release reporting that Sullair was writing down its investment in the DSG, the defendants were responsible for a series of publicly disseminated misrepresentations and omissions regarding Sullair’s progress in the development of the DSG. Included among the numerous public documents allegedly furthering and perpetrating a pat[927]*927tern of false and misleading information were a press release issued by defendants and published in The Wall Street Journal on September 25, 1980; Sullair’s Third Quarter Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ordered December 31, 1980 issued on or about October 27, 1980; a report issued by defendants published in The Wall Street Journal on November 5, 1980; and Sullair’s Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal years ended December 31, 1980 and December 31,1981 issued on March 20, 1981 and March 26, 1982.

Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification was filed June 30, 1983. All defendants filed briefs in opposition to plaintiffs motion on October 3,1983. Additional well-researched briefs on the class certification issue were filed on April 19, 1984 by plaintiffs and on May 10, 1984 by defendants. A hearing was held on the Rule 23 motion on May 18, 1984 in South Bend, Indiana. Both parties filed post-hearing memorandums on their respective positions May 29, 1984. Jurisdiction over the federal claims is predicated upon the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 78j[b]. Jurisdiction over the state claims is asserted pursuant to the well-established principles of pendent jurisdiction. United Mine Workers v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 726, 86 S.Ct. 1130, 1139, 16 L.Ed.2d 218 [1966].

II.

In order to be certified under FED.R. CIV.P. 23, a class action must satisfy each of the requirements of Rule 23[a] and qualify under at least one of the three subdivisions of Rule 23[b]. Rule 23[a] requires the plaintiff to satisfy the following requirements before a class can be certified: 1] the class must be so numerous that joinder of all members is impractical; 2] there must be questions of law or fact common to the class; 3] the claims of the representative party must be typical of the claims of a class; and 4] the representative party must fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. Patterson v. General Motors Corp., 631 F.2d 476, 480 [7th Cir.1980]. Here plaintiffs seek to certify a class under Rule 23[b][3] which requires the court to find that “questions of law or fact predominate over any questions affecting only individual numbers, and that a class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy.” In determining whether a matter should proceed as a class action, the court must make findings concerning each essential element of the class action rule. Beebe v. Pacific Realty Trust, 99 F.R.D. 60, 64 [D.Or.1983]. Accordingly, the Court turns to an analysis of each requirement of Rule 23[a] to determine whether it has been satisfied.

A.

Numerosity

Rule 23[a][l] requires that “the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable.” The fact that the number of class members cannot be determined with precision does not defeat certification. Vergara v. Hampton, 581 F.2d 1281, 1284 [7th Cir.1978], cert. denied, 441 U.S. 905, 99 S.Ct. 1993, 60 L.Ed.2d 373 [1979]. The issue of numerosity is resolved by consideration of the particular circumstances surrounding each case. Cypress v. Newport News General & Nonsectarian Hospital Assn., 375 F.2d 648, 653 [4th Cir.1967]; Borowski v. City of Burbank, 101 F.R.D. 59, 61 [N.D.Ill.1984],

Though the court has no information before it as to the exact number of people who purchased Sullair stock, plaintiffs estimate that during the first three months of 1981 alone [during which time Sullair common stock became listed on the New York Stock Exchange] about three million shares were traded. Thus, these transactions involved at least several hundred, and possibly, several thousand different purchasers. Since a good faith estimate of the number of class members is sufficient to satisfy the numerosity requirement, Borowski, 101 F.R.D. at 61, and joinder of several hundred people is clearly impractical, this Court deems the numerosity requirement of Rule 23[a][l] satisfied.

[928]*928B.

Commonality

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Bluebook (online)
102 F.R.D. 924, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24055, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zandman-v-joseph-innd-1984.