Ziemack v. Centel Corp.

163 F.R.D. 530, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14163, 1995 WL 575342
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedSeptember 22, 1995
DocketNo. 92 C 3551
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 163 F.R.D. 530 (Ziemack v. Centel Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ziemack v. Centel Corp., 163 F.R.D. 530, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14163, 1995 WL 575342 (N.D. Ill. 1995).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

BRIAN BARNETT DUFF, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on the Defendants’ Motion to Decertify or, Alternatively, to Redefine the Class.1 For the reasons discussed below, we deny the motion without prejudice on the issue of inadequate representation arising from the presence of class members who sold shares during the class period. We deny the motion with prejudice as to all other grounds.

I.

This is a securities fraud ease filed under Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) & 78t(a) (1981), Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b-5, 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5 (1994), and the Illinois common law. The question presently before the Court is whether the class certified on March 11, 1993 should be decertified or modified. About four months after the filing of this action, regarding the federal claims only, the parties stipulated to a class

[533]*533consisting of all persons and entities who purchased the common stock of Centel during the period from January 23, 1992 through May 27, 1992, inclusive, and who were damaged, except Centel, its subsidiaries and affiliates, the individual defendants, other officers and directors of Centel, members of the immediate family of each of the individual defendants, any entity in which any defendant has a controlling interest, and the legal representatives, heirs, successors or assigns of any such excluded party—

(Stipulation of September 18,1992). On January 20, 1993, then Magistrate Judge Bucklo issued a Report and Recommendation that this Court certify the identical class on the common law claims. We adopted her recommendation on March 11, 1993.

This Court previously denied the Defendants’ motion to dismiss. See Ziemack v. Centel, 856 F.Supp. 430 (N.D.Ill.1994) (“memorandum opinion”). Our prior memorandum opinion sets out most of the background to this action. We proceed directly to the arguments.

II.

When a claim for relief involves issues of law or fact common to a class of persons, and when the issues center on questions of law applicable in like manner to each member of the class, class relief is “peculiarly appropriate.” See General Telephone Company of the Southwest v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 155, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 2369, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982); 7A Charles A. Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure §§ 1751-64 (1986 & Supp.1995). Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governs the standards for certifying, decertifying, or modifying a class. It is well settled that the party requesting class certification has the burden of showing the four requirements for certification within Rule 23(a) of numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequate representation. See General Telephone Co., 457 U.S. at 157-58, 102 S.Ct. at 2371. In an action for damages, the movant must also show that common issues predominate over individual ones and that the class action is a superior way to adjudicate the class members’ claims. Fed. R. Civ.P. 23(b); In re Seagate Technology II Securities Litigation, 843 F.Supp. 1341, 1351-52 (N.D.Cal.1994). The burden of persuasion throughout the litigation remains with the party desiring to maintain certification. See generally U.S. Parole Commission v. Geraghty, 445 U.S. 388, 408, 100 S.Ct. 1202, 1214-15, 63 L.Ed.2d 479 (1980); 7B Wright, Miller & Kane, supra, § 1790.

The standard of proof required in support of certification is rather liberal and subject to our discretion. See Patterson v. General Motors Corp., 631 F.2d 476, 480 (7th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 451 U.S. 914, 101 S. Ct. 1988, 68 L.Ed.2d 304 (1981); see also Sirota v. Solitron Devices, Inc., 673 F.2d 566, 571 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 838, 103 S.Ct. 86, 74 L.Ed.2d 80 and 459 U.S. 908, 103 S.Ct. 213, 74 L.Ed.2d 170 (1982) (“Class certification motions are not subject to the same standards as motions for dismissal for failure to state a claim or for summary judgment.”); Hewitt v. Joyce Beverages of Wisconsin, 721 F.2d 625, 627 (7th Cir.1983) (holding appellate review standard on decertification ruling is by abuse of discretion). We do not have “ ‘any authority to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the merits of a suit in order to determine whether it may be maintained as a class action.’ ” Meiresonne v. Marriott Corp., 124 F.R.D. 619, 622 (N.D.IIll.1989) (Shadur, J.) (quoting Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 177, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 2152, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974)). Accordingly, “[s]ometimes the issues are plain enough from the pleadings to determine whether the interests of the absent parties are fairly encompassed within the named plaintiffs claim, and sometimes it may be necessary for the court to probe behind the pleadings before coming to rest on the certification issue.” General Telephone Co., 457 U.S. at 160, 102 S.Ct at 2372. In counterpoint to the liberal certification standard, as developments in the class litigation occur, a court remains free to modify or vacate a certification order if it should prove necessary. General Telephone Co., 457 U.S. at 160, 102 S.Ct. at 2372 (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(c)(1)).

The Defendants have challenged the propriety of the certified class on several [534]*534grounds. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule” or “Fed.R.Civ.P.”) 23(a)(3), they argue that the named Plaintiffs comprise persons who have claims atypical of the class members. Under Rule 23(b)(3), they argue that common issues of law and fact do not predominate over individual issues. Under Rule 23(a)(4), they argue that the named Plaintiffs are inadequate representatives because the class contains persons who have interests antagonistic to theirs. We treat these contentions in turn.

A

The Defendants argue that decertification or modification is proper because the named Plaintiffs do not have claims typical of the class as required under Rule 23(a)(3). Typicality generally requires that the claims of the plaintiffs stand or fall on the same facts as the claims of the putative class members. See East Texas Motor Freight System, Inc. v. Rodriguez, 431 U.S. 395, 403, 97 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
163 F.R.D. 530, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14163, 1995 WL 575342, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ziemack-v-centel-corp-ilnd-1995.