Duane Morris Class Action Review - 2023 - Report - Page 341
at *5. The relevant membership categories were golf, tennis, and social, and each
category had its own resignation waiting list and each type of membership had a
different purchase price. Payments could only be made from the escrow account, and
the escrow account was solely funded by the sale of new memberships and there was
no contractual obligation for the club to continue to sell memberships. The purchase
price of each type of membership varied significantly over the years, and the members
signed membership agreements that specifically stated that the bylaws could be
amended at any time. The plaintiffs and the proposed class members joined and
resigned their memberships at different times and under different bylaws that were in
effect. Id. at *6. Based on the multiple individual issues of liability and multiple potential
defenses that would require resolution for each member of the proposed class, the
dissent reasoned that individual questions predominated and the case should not have
been certified as a class. Id. at *11.
Georgia
In another privacy class action, the plaintiffs in Pride Medical, Inc. v. Doe, et al., 2022
Ga. App. LEXIS 490 (Ga. App. Oct. 21, 2022), brought claims against the defendants
Pride Medical, Inc., Pride Medical Services, P.C., and individually-named doctors, after
Defendants e-mailed a spreadsheet containing the names and HIV status of 379
putative class members to several publications with whom the defendants advertised.
Id. at *1. The plaintiffs asserted claims for, among other things, invasion of privacy,
breach of confidential and fiduciary duty, negligence, and breach of contract. Id. The
trial court granted class certification with respect to “[a]ll individuals identified in the
HIV/AIDS patient list” whose information had been disseminated by the defendants,
without authorization, to third parties. Id. at *2. The defendants appealed the decision.
The Georgia court of appeal reversed on the basis that the trial court had abused its
discretion by finding that the plaintiffs could fairly and adequately represent the class. Id.
at *7-8. The court of appeal determined that while the trial court had concluded that the
plaintiffs would be adequate representatives, the trial court did not address whether the
plaintiffs’ decision not to pursue individualized remedies (such as emotional distress
damages) impacted the ability of the plaintiffs to protect the interests of the class. Id. at
*4. In its review of the record, the court of appeal noted that the plaintiffs had been clear
that they were not seeking any claim for “emotional” distress damages (despite their
respective deposition testimonies), and that such relief had been “unequivocally waived”
by the plaintiffs. Id. at *7-8. The court of appeal cited to federal case law authority
wherein courts had held the plaintiffs could not be permitted to represent a class where
they had chosen not to pursue certain remedies that may otherwise be available to
other putative class members. Id. For these reasons, the court of appeal reversed the
trial court’s certification order on this basis.
Illinois
COVID-related class action litigation remained a focus of intense interest in Illinois over
the past year. One significant ruling involved the Illinois executive order to close indoor
dinning and a dispute over insurance coverage stemming from the loss of business.
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Duane Morris Class Action Review – 2023
