The Ninth Circuit continues to grapple with the standards for certifying class actions following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011). Last week, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit refused to certify a nationwide class action on behalf of individuals who bought or leased Acura RL automobiles equipped with a Collision Mitigation Braking System.
In Mazza v. American Honda Motor Company, Inc., plaintiffs claimed that Honda misrepresented and concealed material information about the braking system in the marketing and sale of Acura RL vehicles. Plaintiffs made claims under California’s unfair competition and false advertising laws. While the District Court found common issues of law and fact sufficient to certify a nationwide class, the Ninth Circuit reversed. Judge Ronald M. Gould, writing for the majority, focused on the admonition in Wal-Mart that commonality means that an issue central to each class member’s claim is subject to resolution “in one stroke.”
Material differences in the consumer protection laws of the states in which class members reside, and those states’ interests in having their own laws apply, caused the court to conclude that common issues of law do not predominate. Further, the small scale of the advertising campaign for the braking system did not support a presumption that all purchasers and lessors relied on the alleged false advertising. The proposed class, as defined, would almost certainly include members who were not exposed to the allegedly misleading advertising material, and as a result common issues of fact would not predominate.
Judge Dorothy W. Nelson issued a strong dissent. She stated first that, because the allegations of false advertising are based on omissions rather than affirmative statements, it is appropriate to impute reliance to the class. Second, the differences among the consumer protection statutes of the states in which class members reside are not material and should not block a class action. Finally, because American Honda and its advertising agency are headquartered in California, that state’s interest in deterring false advertising makes it appropriate to apply California law. Judge Nelson decried the seemingly insurmountable hurdles to a nationwide class action by consumers subjected to false advertising: “If the harm to individual consumers is small enough to create a disincentive to individual litigation, and if a nationwide class action is not a potential consequence, corporations can choose increased revenues over the consumer with impunity.”
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