Dameron v. Sinai Hosp. of Baltimore, Inc.

• Decision Date: 04 October 1984
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. M-83-2835.
• Citation: 595 F. Supp. 1404
• Parties: Rebecca DAMERON, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated v. SINAI HOSPITAL OF BALTIMORE, INC.; Administrative Committee of Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Inc.; Grace Pryor; Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Inc. Pension Plan For Employees Covered Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement Between the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, Division of R.W.D.S.U., AFL-CIO, and Its Affiliate Local District 1119 E, and Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Inc.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

595 F. Supp. 1404

Rebecca DAMERON, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated v. SINAI HOSPITAL OF BALTIMORE, INC.; Administrative Committee of Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Inc.; Grace Pryor; Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Inc. Pension Plan For Employees Covered Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement Between the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, Division of R.W.D.S.U., AFL-CIO, and Its Affiliate Local District 1119 E, and Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Inc.

Civ. A. No. M-83-2835.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

October 4, 1984.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Luther Blackiston, Legal Aid Bureau, Inc., Towson, Md., Gill Deford and Neal S. Dudovitz, Nat. Senior Citizens Law Center, Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiffs.

Leonard E. Cohen, Jeffrey Rockman, Rudolph E. DeMeo, and Frank, Bernstein, Conaway & Goldman, Baltimore, Md., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

JAMES R. MILLER, Jr., District Judge.

On August 2, 1983, Rebecca Dameron filed a class action suit against Sinai Hospital, the Administrative Committee of Sinai Hospital the Committee, and the Sinai Hospital Pension Plan the Plan¹ seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and alleging that the system used by the defendants to calculate estimated Social Security benefits and to offset those benefits against the amount of the pension benefits to be paid by the Plan violates certain provisions of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq. and the Taft-Hartley Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 185, 186 (Paper No. 1).

Pending before this court are plaintiff's motion for class certification (Paper No. 19) filed on April 16, 1984 and defendants' opposition thereto (Paper No. 24). In addition, by agreement of all parties, the defendants' motion to dismiss (Paper No. 8)² and the parties' cross motions for summary judgment (Paper No. 13³ and 20⁴) have been consolidated.

Before addressing the individual and class-based claims set forth by the named plaintiff, this court will consider the propriety of certifying the class.

A) Class Certification

The named plaintiff, Rebecca Dameron, worked at Sinai Hospital for 11 years. At 62 years of age she retired and applied for Social Security benefits. Three years later she applied for her pension benefits under the Sinai Pension Plan. After an initial dispute regarding the benefits due her, the Sinai Pension Plan found her to be entitled to $14.50 per month. To arrive at that figure, the defendants calculated the estimated would receive per month and factored that figure into the system employed by the Plan to determine the amount of pension benefits the Plan would pay Ms. Dameron Social Security benefits Ms. Dameron monthly.

Ms. Dameron claims, and it is undisputed by the defendants, that the estimated Social Security benefits figure calculated by the defendants was a higher figure than the actual amount of Social Security benefits Ms. Dameron received. The defendants offset the amount the Plan would pay by using the higher Social Security figure, and thus the amount of benefits Ms. Dameron receives from the pension plan ($14.50) is lower than the amount she alleges she is entitled to receive.

She seeks certification of a class consisting of all other persons who have received, currently receive, or will receive benefits (or would receive benefits but for the estimated Social Security benefit deduction) under the Sinai pension plan and have had, are having, or will have these benefits reduced by an amount derived by using an estimated Social Security benefit which is in excess of the amount of the Social Security benefits which they actually received or will receive after leaving the service of Sinai Hospital to retire (Paper No. 19 at 1).

Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a) sets out four initial requirements for class certification: 1) numerosity; 2) commonality; 3) typicality; and 4) adequacy of representation. If those requirements are satisfied, a class action may be maintained if it also meets the requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b). The plaintiff asserts that, in this action, "the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class," see Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2) and, therefore, that class certification is appropriate.

1) Numerosity

The plaintiff estimates that the class consists of at least 47 to 51 persons who have retired from Sinai Hospital. That number appears to be a realistic figure. In fact, the defendants concur that 51 participants in the plan have retired since the pension plan went into effect (see Paper No. 24, affidavit of Pryor ¶ 6). The plaintiff further asserts that the size of the class will increase in the future if the defendants continue the allegedly illegal practice of using estimated Social Security benefits to calculate the amount of pension benefits payable by the plan. Because, as set forth infra, this court concludes that a conflict may exist between the named plaintiff and future retirees, this court will not consider the expanding nature of the class in determining whether the numerosity requirement is met.

To satisfy the numerosity requirement, the plaintiff must show that joinder is impractical. Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(1). Impracticality of joinder is not determined by a numerical test alone. Ballard v. Blue Shield, 543 F.2d 1075, 1080 (4th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 922, 97 S.Ct. 1341, 51 L.Ed.2d 601 (1977). Courts generally consider in addition to the size of the class, the geographic diversity of class members, the difficulty of identification, and the negative impact on judicial economy if individual suits were required. See, e.g., Zeidman v. J. Ray McDermott & Co., Inc., 651 F.2d 1030, 1038 (5th Cir.1981); Horn v. Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., 555 F.2d 270, 275-76 (10th Cir.1977); Christman v. American Cyanamid Co., 92 F.R.D. 441, 451 (N.D.W.Va.1981). A class consisting of as few as 25 to 30 members raises the presumption that joinder would be impractical. See EEOC v. Printing Industry, 92 F.R.D. 51, 53 (D.D.C.1981); 1 H. Newburg, Class Actions § 1105b at 174 (1977).

Because the putative class is elderly, some members may no longer live in the area. In addition, resolution of the legal issues involved in this case on a class basis would be more economical than on an individual basis. For these reasons, the court concludes that joinder is impractical and that the numerosity requirement has been satisfied.

2) Commonality

Both plaintiff and defendants agree that this case focuses on the legality of the defendants' practice of using estimated Social Security benefits rather than the actual benefits received by the plaintiff and the putative class to calculate Sinai Pension Plan's benefit payable to a participant. A common question of law exists as to all members of the class.

3) Typicality

"The typicality requirement focuses on the consideration of whether the representative's interests are truly aligned and consistent with those of the class members. Factual differences will not necessarily render a claim atypical if the representative's claim arises from the same event, practice or course of conduct that gives rise to the claims of the class and is based on the same legal theory." Smith v. B & O Railroad Co., 473 F.Supp. 572, 581 (D.Md.1979); see also Doe v. Heckler, 576 F.Supp. 463, 468 (D.Md.1983); 7 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 1764 at 613-14 (1972).

The plaintiff seeks to enjoin the defendants from reducing her pension and the pensions of the putative class members by using estimated Social Security benefit calculations which are larger than the actual benefit the class member receives. Her claim is consistent with that of the putative class. If she prevails, all class members will benefit. The typicality requirement is met.

4) Adequacy of Representation

"It is an essential prerequisite to the right to maintain a class action under Rule 23 that the court be certain the representatives will adequately protect the interests of all class members." 7 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 1765 at 620 (1972) citing Hill v. Western Electric Co., 672 F.2d 381, 388 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 981, 103 S.Ct. 318, 74 L.Ed.2d 294 (1982). "The adequacy of representation by a plaintiff is ultimately a question of fact with respect to which that plaintiff must bear the burden of proof." Predmore v. Allen, 407 F.Supp. 1053, 1064 (D.Md.1975).

The defendants pose two major challenges to the class representative's adequacy. They argue first that Ms. Dameron's claim is barred by the statute of limitations and, therefore, that she cannot represent the class. As the Fourth Circuit recently has pointed out, "courts passing upon motions for class certification have generally refused to consider the impact of such affirmative defenses as the statute of limitations on the potential representative's case." International Woodworkers v. Chesapeake Bay Plywood, 659 F.2d 1259, 1270 (4th Cir.1981). "This view is supported by the principle that the class representative need not show a probability of individual success on the merits...." 1 H. Newburg, Class Actions, § 1115(e) at 191 (1977). Therefore, this court will not cloud the issue of adequate representation with the statute of limitations problem. If the named plaintiff's claim is barred by statute of limitations, a proper plaintiff may be substituted to represent the class. International Woodworkers v. Chesapeake Bay Plywood, 659 F.2d at 1270.

The main focus of the adequacy of the named plaintiff's representation of the class is on potentially antagonistic or conflicting objectives of the named plaintiff in the litigation with those of the members of the putative class. 7 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1768 at 638 (1972). The defendants argue that Ms. Dameron's claim is antagonistic to the interests of one segment of the class she seeks to represent—those employees who "will receive" benefits from the Plan...