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Boyd v. Allied Signal12/30/2004
3, 96-2917, 96-2929 at p. 5-6, 703 So.2d at 545; Blank v. Sid Richardson Carbon and Gasoline Company, 97-0872, p. 3 (La.App. 1st Cir.5/15/98), 712 So.2d 630, 632. Only mass torts "arising from a common cause or disaster" may be appropriate for class action certification. Ford, 96-2913, 96-2917, 96-2929 at p. 13, 703 So.2d at 549-50.
Class action certification is purely procedural. Hampton v. Illinois Railroad Company, 98-0430, p. 6 (La.App. 1st Cir.4/1/99), 730 So.2d 1091, 1093. The likelihood of any plaintiff's success on the merits is not properly part of the certification process. Mire, 02-1705 at p. 5, 849 So.2d at 613. Further, " ertification shall not be for the purpose of adjudicating ... defenses dependent for their resolution on proof individual to a member of the class." La. C.C.P. art. 591(C). Individual questions of quantum of damages do not preclude a class action when predominant liability issues are common to the class. McCastle, 456 So.2d at 620.
PLAUSIBLE NUMEROSITY AND OBJECTIVITY
In Hampton, 98-0430 at p. 8, 730 So.2d at 1094-95, this court required that the plaintiffs seeking certification meet a threshold burden of "plausibility" as a component element of a prima facie showing of numerosity. In doing so, we emphasized that numerosity is not shown by mere allegations of a large number of potential claimants, or, in the case of a mass tort, by showing a certain population within a certain geographic radius or proximity of the event. Id. In the case of a mass tort, this burden of plausibility requires some evidence of a causal link between the incident and the injuries or damages claimed by sufficiently numerous class members. This prima facie showing need not rise to the status of proof by a preponderance of the evidence, as would be necessary to prevail on the merits. Hampton, 98-0430 at p. 11, 730 So.2d at 1096.
In a mass exposure tort case, the determination of the issues of both numerosity and objectivity for class action certification is usually predicated upon proof of the geographic limits of potentially harmful exposure of the purported class. In terms of the objectivity (definability) requirement, this court has held that " determination of the geographic area of the class is an integral part of the definition of the class." Singleton, 01-0447 at p. 17, 826 So.2d at 66, citing Hampton, 98-0430 at p. 6, 730 So.2d at 1094. In Hampton, 98-0430 at p. 11, 730 So.2d at 1096, we similarly observed that in a mass tort case, a trial court cannot properly determine whether the numerosity requirement has been met without first determining the physical area of the mass tort. It is therefore appropriate to first examine the evidence upon which the geographic area selected by the trial court was based.
Factual Testimony of Emergency Responders Regarding the Incident
Larry Mounce of the Baton Rouge Fire Department's Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Unit testified by deposition that upon his arrival at the site, the vapor cloud appeared to be drifting downwind in a northerly direction over a length of ten to fifteen yards. A "hot zone" of 200 feet in circumference from the rear of the trailer was established, which emergency personnel were generally prohibited from entering without breathing protection.
Eugene Beauchamp was the captain of the Baton Rouge Fire Department's Engine # 19, the first fire truck to arrive at the scene. He described the leaking BF sub3 as resembling a white, steam-like mist, which seemed to dissipate within eight to twelve feet from the trailer. He estimated the "hot zone" around the trailer to have been approximately 150 yards in diameter. The HAZMAT Unit instructed Captain Beauchamp's crew t
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