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Entergy Gulf States5/4/2000
llege. The answers to these questions are necessary in considering Southwest's liability, but they will not establish whether and to what extent each class member was exposed, whether that exposure was the proximate cause of harm to each class member, whether and to what extent other factors contributed to the alleged harm, and the damage amount that should compensate each class member's harm. Bernal, 2000 WL 566745, at *10.
This reasoning is instructive to the case at hand. These same types of considerations and individual determinations would have to be made in order to show that Entergy was the cause of each individual's harm, and precisely what damages each individual plaintiff suffered.
Moreover, the trial court failed to explain its plan for trying these individual issues, and "it is improper to certify a class without knowing how the claims can and will likely be tried." Id. at *9. The trial court did acknowledge the potential need to divide the class into subclasses. However, the Texas Supreme Court has made it clear that it is no longer acceptable for a trial court to "certify now and worry later." Id. at *8. "If it is not determinable from the outset that the individual issues can be considered in a manageable, time-efficient, yet fair manner, then certification is not appropriate." Id. at *9. In this case, the predominance requirement is not satisfied.
The order certifying the class is reversed.
Donald R. Ross Justice
Date Submitted: February 8, 2000
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