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Linder v. Thrifty Oil Co.6/26/2000
As modified August 9, 2000. This modification does not affect the judgment.
ROCHELLE C. LINDER, PLAINTIFF AND APPELLANT,
V.
THRIFTY OIL CO., DEFENDANT AND RESPONDENT
Ct. App. 2/1 No. B106507 Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC 127 354
Attorneys for Appellant: Daar & Newman, David Daar and Jeffrey J. Daar for Plaintiff and Appellant. Chavez & Gertler, Mark A. Chavez; The Sturdevant Law Firm, James C. Sturdevant, Steven S. Kaufhold; Bruce A. Broillet; David S. Casey, Jr.; Deborah David; Douglas Devries; Laurence E. Drivon; Thor Emblem; Joseph F. Harbison III; Ian Herzog; Steven J. Keifield; Harvey R. Levine; Moses Lebovits; Wayne McClean; Mark P. Robinson, Jr.; David A. Rosen; Leonard Sacks; Daniel Smith; Chris Spagnoli; Robert B. Steinberg; Tony Tanke; Lea-Ann Tratten; Rick Simons; Thomas G. Stolpman; William D. Turley; and Roland Wrinkle for Consumer Attorneys of California as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant. Attorneys for Respondent: Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert & Matz, Ronald J. Nessim, Mark T. Drooks, Thomas R. Freeman and Thomas V. Reichert for Defendant and Respondent. Thomas & Walton, John R. Walton; Daniel J. Popeo and Richard A. Samp for Washington Legal Foundation as Amiucs Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent. Fred J. Hiestand for the Association for California Tort Reform as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent. Riordan & McKinzie, Kenneth Klein, Gina M. Calvelli and Karen Meckstroth for Union Oil Company of California dba Unocal and California Retailers Association as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent. Counsel who argued in Supreme Court (not intended for publication with opinion): Jeffery J. Daar Daar & Newman 865 South Figueroa Street, Suite 2500 Los Angeles, CA 90017-2567 (213) 892-0999 Mark A. Chavez Chavez & Gertler 42 Miller Avenue Mill Valley, CA 94941 (415) 381-5572 Mark T. Drooks Bird, Marella, Boxer & Wolpert 1875 Century Park East, 23rd Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067-2561 (310) 201-2100
The opinion of the court was delivered by: Baxter, J.
The trial court below denied certification of this case as a class action. The Court of Appeal affirmed. We granted review to consider several questions. First, may certification of a proposed class be denied based upon a trial court's preliminary assessment that the cause of action alleged on behalf of the class lacks sufficient merit? Second, was adequate consideration given to the possible benefits of class action in this case? Third, did the Court of Appeal properly conclude that the aggregate amount of potential statutory penalties would be either too small or too onerous to support certification of a class?
We conclude that the answer to each of the foregoing questions is no. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal with directions to remand the matter to the trial court for further proceedings.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Plaintiff Rochelle C. Linder (Linder) filed this action on behalf of herself and all others "similarly situated." According to Linder, defendant Thrifty Oil Co. (Thrifty) violated two provisions of the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971 (Civ. Code, ยง 1747 et seq.) (the Credit Card Act) and committed other unfair business practices. She seeks injunctive relief, money damages, statutory treble damages and civil penalties.
After Thrifty answered the second amended complaint, Linder moved to certify the case as a class action with two plaintiff classes. The first class, "the surcharge
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