Ladd v. Nashville Booting, LLC

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ANTHONY LADD et al., Plaintiffs, v. NASHVILLE BOOTING, LLC, Defendant.

No. 3:20-cv-00626

United States District Court, M.D. Tennessee, Nashville Division

May 11, 2023

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ELI RICHARDSON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.

Pending before the Court is Plaintiffs' motion to certify the proposed class. (Doc. No. 56, “Motion”). Defendant filed a response. (Doc. No. 65). Plaintiffs filed a reply.^[1] (Doc. No. 74, “Reply”). For the reasons stated herein, the motion will be granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

During the relevant time period, § 6.81.170(E) of the Code of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County Tennessee (“Ordinance”)^[2] stated that it was “prohibited and unlawful” for a booting service “[t]o fail to remove the boot within one hour of being contacted by the owner or operator of the vehicle that has been booted.”^[3] (Doc. No. 1-1 at 12).

Plaintiffs and the putative class members are individuals who allege that Defendant violated the Ordinance when it failed to remove boots it placed on vehicles within an hour of a request to do so. Specifically, Plaintiffs seek to certify the following class:

All persons who had a vehicle in their possession immobilized by Nashville Booting LLC in Nashville for longer than one hour after requesting removal of the immobilization device from July 20, 2017 until June 17, 2022, but excluding the claims of non-named parties arising before December 1, 2018 (for whom Nashville Booting does not have any records).

(Doc. No. 56 at 4) (internal footnotes omitted).^[4] Plaintiffs claim that Defendant is liable for negligent bailment,^[5] trespass to chattel, and conversion.

Named Plaintiffs Anthony Ladd and Nicholas Brindle are two individuals who had their vehicles booted by Defendant and had to wait for more than an hour (from the time removal was requested) for Defendant to remove the boots on their respective vehicles.^[6] (Doc. No. 56 at 8-15). Plaintiffs seek punitive and compensatory damages. (Doc. No. 1). As for compensatory damages, Plaintiffs seek economic damages for being deprived of the use and enjoyment of their vehicles and non-economic damages for the inconvenience of having to wait over an hour from the time of their respective requests to have the boots removed. (Doc. No. 56).

Via the Motion, Plaintiffs have moved the Court to certify the putative class under Rule 23(b)(3).^[7] (Do. No. 56 at 2). Defendant filed a response (Doc. No. 65), and Plaintiffs filed a reply (Doc. No. 74). The Motion is thus now ripe for review.

LEGAL STANDARD

The principal purpose of class actions is to achieve efficiency and economy of litigation, with respect to both the parties and the courts. Gen. Tel. Co. of the Southwest v Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 159 (1982). As an exception to the usual rule that litigation is conducted by and on behalf of individually named parties, “[c]lass relief is ‘peculiarly appropriate' when the ‘issues involved are common to the class as a whole' and when they ‘turn on questions of law applicable in the same manner to each member of the class.'” Id. at 155 (quoting Califano v. Yamasaki, 442 U.S. 682 701 (1979)). District courts have broad discretion in deciding whether to certify a class but must exercise that discretion within the framework of Rule 23. See Coleman v. Gen. Motors Acceptance Corp., 296 F.3d 443, 446 (6th Cir. 2002). However, “when in doubt as to whether to certify a class action, the district court should err in favor of allowing a class.” Rankin v. Rots, 220 F.R.D. 511, 517 (E.D. Mich. 2004) (citing Eisenberg v. Gagnon, 766 F.2d 770, 785 (3d Cir. 1985)).

A class action will be certified only if, after rigorous analysis the court is satisfied that the prerequisites of Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a) have been met and that the action falls within one of the categories prescribed in Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b). Bridging Cmtys. Inc. v. Top Flite Fin. Inc., 843 F.3d 1119, 1124 (6th Cir. 2016). A party seeking to maintain a class action must be prepared to show that Rule 23(a)'s numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation requirements have been met. Comcast v. Behrend, 569 U.S. 27, 33 (2013). In addition, the party must satisfy, through evidentiary proof, at least one of Rule 23(b)'s provisions. Id. at 34. Where, as here, the plaintiff relies on Rule 23(b)(3) in particular, the court can certify a Rule 23(a)-compliant class if 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. The matters pertinent to these findings include: (A) the class members' interests in individually controlling the prosecution or defense of separate actions; (B) the extent and nature of any litigation concerning the controversy already begun by or against class members; (C) the desirability or undesirability of concentrating the litigation of the claims in the particular forum; and (D) the likely difficulties in managing a class action. Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3).

In determining whether a plaintiff has met his or her burden, a court cannot rely merely on the designation of an action as a class action in the pleadings. See In re Am. Med. Sys., Inc., 75 F.3d 1069, 1079 (6th Cir. 1996). Instead, before certifying a class, a district court must conduct a “rigorous analysis” of the prerequisites of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Id. at 161. As touched on above, in evaluating whether class certification is appropriate, “it may be necessary for the court to probe behind the pleadings,”^[8] as the issues concerning whether it is appropriate to certify a class are often “enmeshed” within the legal and factual considerations raised by the litigation. Gen. Tel. Co. of the Southwest, 457 U.S. at 160; see also In re Am. Med. Sys., 75 F.3d at 1079. It follows that the Court may rely on affidavits or declarations submitted in support of the Class Certification Motion. See, e.g., Steward v. Janek, 315 F.R.D. 472, 477 (W.D. Tex. 2016) (declining to exclude declarations submitted in support of motion to certify class); Clay v. CytoSport, Inc., No. 3:15-CV-00165-L-AGS, 2017 WL 10592138, (S.D. Cal. Apr. 6, 2017). Cf. Frazier v. PJ Iowa, L.C., 337 F.Supp.3d 848, 865 (S.D. Iowa 2018) (“Signed declarations or affidavits provide appropriate support for motions to conditionally certify a class” (involving a proposed collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act)). Likewise, the Court can consider deposition testimony. See, e.g., Crutchfield v. Sewerage & Water Bd. of New Orleans, No. CIV.A. 13-4801, 2015 WL 3917657, at *5 (E.D. La. June 25, 2015) (declining to strike plaintiffs' deposition testimony submitted in support of motion for class certification even though unpersuasive and self-serving at best), aff'd and remanded, 829 F.3d 370 (5th Cir. 2016).

The certification stage, however, is not the appropriate time for the Court to “engage in free-ranging merits inquiries[.]” Amgen, Inc. v. Conn. Ret. Plans & Tr. Funds, 568 U.S. 455, 466 (2013). “Merits questions may be considered to the extent-but only to the extent-that they are relevant to determining whether the Rule 23 prerequisites for class certification are satisfied.” Id. It is clear that over the years, many courts (including this one and others in this Circuit) have stated that the court generally must accept as true the allegations (at least those related to the merits) contained in the plaintiff's complaint. See, e.g., Porcell v. Lincoln Wood Prod., Inc., 713 F.Supp.2d 1305, 1309 (D.N.M. 2010); Moreno-Espinosa v. J & J Ag Prods., Inc., 247 F.R.D. 686, 691 (S.D. Fla. 2007) (citing Heffner v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ala., Inc., 443 F.3d 1330, 1337 (11th Cir. 2006)); Rankin,220 F.R.D. at 517; Edwards v. McCormick, 196 F.R.D. 487, 490 (S.D. Ohio 2000). But such statements have not accurately reflected the law in the Sixth Circuit as it has existed for more than a decade. As the Sixth Circuit explained in 2012, allegations in the complaint (including allegations related to the merits and not directly to class certification) should not be accepted as true unless they are undisputed:

“Rule 23 does not set forth a mere pleading standard. A party seeking class certification must affirmatively demonstrate his compliance with the Rule.” WalMart [Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S.Ct. 2541, 2551 (2011]. “[A]ctual, not presumed, conformance with Rule 23(a) remains ... indispensable,” Gen. Tel. Co. of Sw. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 160, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982), and must be checked through “rigorous analysis,” Wal-Mart, 131 S.Ct. at 2551 (quoting Falcon, 457 U.S. at 161, 102 S.Ct. 2364). Some circuits expressly bar district courts from presuming that the plaintiffs' allegations in the complaint are “true for purposes of the class motion ... without resolving factual and legal issues that strongly influence the wisdom of class treatment.” Szabo v. Bridgeport Machs., Inc., 249 F.3d 672, 675 (7^th Cir.), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 951, 122 S.Ct. 348, 151 L.Ed.2d 263 (2001) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Elizabeth M. v. Montenez, 458 F.3d 779, 783 (8th Cir. 2006); Miles v. Merrill Lynch & Co. (In re Initial Pub. Offerings Sec. Litig.), 471 F.3d 24, 41 (2d Cir. 2006). That approach follows from Falcon, and Wal-Mart has cemented its propriety. Nevertheless it does not apply in all circumstances; it is not always “ ‘necessary ... to probe behind the pleadings before coming to rest on the certification question,' ” Wal-Mart, 131 S.Ct. at 2551 (quoting Falcon, 457 U.S. at 160, 102 S.Ct. 2364), because sometimes there may be no disputed “factual and legal issues” that “

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