Variances in State Laws Have no Effect on Arkansas Class Action Certification
The Arkansas Supreme Court handed out a big decision on Arkansas class action law: General Motors Corp. v. Bryant, No. 07-437 (6/19/08).
The claim is that General Motors sold trucks and SUVs with a defective parking brake system. The class involves 4 million consumers in all 50 states bringing claims for breach of express warranty, implied warranty, and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. GM argued the variances in state law would prevent certification, but the trial court disagreed and certified the class.
The supreme court affirmed, holding class certification should be decided before addressing the choice of law issue. The court noted other courts that have reached the opposite conclusion, including In re Prempro Prods. Liab. Litig., 230 555 (E.D. Ark. 2005). The court reasoned that placing the choice of law determination ahead of the certification issue would cause the trial court to undergo a rigorous certification analysis, which is not a requirement under Arkansas class action law.
The court also rejected the argument that the pled claims would require numerous individual factual determinations. The court held that as long as one common issue existed, that issue could be certified and tried first. Individual issues would then be tried in later proceedings.
