In analyzing class certification issues, courts have noted that even though damages must be determined individually for each class member, common issues may prevail in some cases.But what about where some members of the class have no Compensation for damages? A recent federal appellate decision states that the situation presents the following questions: responsibility, not damage. It’s a subtle difference, but it can make a big difference. If liability cannot be determined on a collective basis, the court has held that the supremacy requirement is not met.
Sampson v. United Service Automobile Association, — F.4th –, 2023 WL 6533181 (5th Cir. Oct. 6, 2023) is one of a series of lawsuits filed against auto insurance companies challenging the way totaled vehicles are valued . The plaintiffs argued that the insurer’s use of a software product called CCC violates Louisiana law because CCC is not a “generally accepted automotive industry information source” within the meaning of the law. The district court certified the class, and the Fifth Circuit agreed to hear an interlocutory appeal of that decision.
Plaintiffs suggested using National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) guidebook values when seeking class certification, but there are other arguably compliant options, such as Kelley Blue Book (KBB). There was also. The insurance company presented evidence that 9.2% of the claims were lower than his NADA value but were valued higher than his KBB value and therefore would not be recoverable if KBB was selected. The Fifth Circuit agreed with the Ninth Circuit’s decision in a similar case last year, reversing the class certification decision (See my blog post here), the vehicle must be evaluated on an individual basis and in some claims it was determined that no injury occurred and the priority requirements for class certification were not met. The Fifth Circuit explained that “a district court’s broad discretion to select an imperfect estimated damages model at the certification stage does not carry over from an injury situation to a liability situation.” If the plaintiff’s evidence failed to establish collective liability (injuries), it was insufficient.