Melong v. Micronesian Claims Com'n

• Decision Date: 20 October 1980
• Docket Number: Nos. 79-1063,s. 79-1063
• Parties: , 7 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 440 Minniah MELONG, et al., Appellants, v. MICRONESIAN CLAIMS COMMISSION, an agency of the United States, et al. Mister RALPHO et al., Appellants v. J. Raymond BELL, Chairman, Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States, et al. Minniah MELONG et al. v. MICRONESIAN CLAIMS COMMISSION, an agency of the United States, et al., Appellants. Mister RALPHO et al. v. J. Raymond BELL, Chairman, Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States, et al., Appellants. to 79-1066.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

Page 10

643 F.2d 10

207 U.S.App.D.C. 75, 7 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 440

Minniah MELONG, et al., Appellants, v. MICRONESIAN CLAIMS COMMISSION, an agency of the United

States, et al.

Mister RALPHO et al., Appellants v. J. Raymond BELL, Chairman, Foreign Claims Settlement

Commission of the United States, et al.

Minniah MELONG et al. v. MICRONESIAN CLAIMS COMMISSION, an agency of the United

States, et al., Appellants.

Mister RALPHO et al. v. J. Raymond BELL, Chairman, Foreign Claims Settlement

Commission of the United States, et al., Appellants.

Nos. 79-1063 to 79-1066.

United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued Sept. 9, 1980.

Decided Oct. 20, 1980.

Theodore R. Mitchell, Saipan, Mareona Islands, with whom Edward C. King, Leonard C. Meeker and James N. Barnes, Washington, D. C., were on the brief for appellants in Nos. 79-1063 and 79-1064 and cross-appellees in Nos. 79-1065 and 79-1066.

Bruno A. Ristau, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for appellees in Nos. 79-1063 and 79-1064 and cross-appellants in Nos. 79-1065 and 79-1066. Alice Daniel, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen., Carl S. Rauh, U. S. Atty. at the time the brief was filed, Washington, D. C., William Kanter and Robert S. Greenspan, Attys., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., were on the brief for appellees in Nos. 79-1063 and 79-1064 and cross-appellants in Nos. 79-1065 and 79-1066. James G. Hergen, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., also entered an appearance for appellees in Nos. 79-1063 and 79-1064 and cross-appellants in Nos. 79-1065 and 79-1066.

Before WRIGHT, Chief Judge, and MIKVA and EDWARDS, Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge EDWARDS.

EDWARDS, Circuit Judge:

These consolidated cases are before us for the second time. See Ralpho v. Bell, 569 F.2d 607 (D.C. Cir. 1977), rehearing denied, 569 F.2d 636 (D.C. Cir. 1977); Melong v. Micronesian Claims Commission, 569 F.2d 630 (D.C. Cir. 1977), rehearing denied, 569 F.2d 636 (D.C. Cir. 1977). In this appeal, two questions are presented. Plaintiffs appeal an order of the District Court denying class certification in each of these cases. The Government has filed a cross-appeal, seeking reconsideration of certain positions previously argued before this court and rejected in its earlier opinions.

I.

The comprehensive opinions of Circuit Judge Robinson, in the decisions previously issued by this court, set forth clearly the facts and procedural history of these cases. See Ralpho v. Bell, 569 F.2d 607 (D.C. Cir. 1977), and Melong v. Micronesian Claims Commission, 569 F.2d 630 (D.C. Cir. 1977). Therefore, we give only a brief summary here.

In 1971, Congress passed the Micronesian Claims Act to provide compensation for losses incurred by inhabitants of the Pacific Islands of Micronesia during and immediately following World War II. ¹ In the Act, Congress established the Micronesian Claims Commission to solicit and resolve claims. In these cases, plaintiffs challenge certain awards made by the Commission under the Act.

In Ralpho v. Bell, plaintiffs pursue individual claims and attempt to represent a class of claimants challenging the sufficiency of property settlements under the Act. The gravamen of the complaint in Ralpho is that the Commission deprived plaintiffs of due process of law in basing its determinations of property damage claims on a property evaluation study without affording plaintiffs the opportunity to examine and rebut the findings of that study. In Melong v. Micronesian Claims Commission, plaintiffs pursue individual claims and attempt to represent a class of claimants challenging the sufficiency of wrongful death payments under the Act. In essence, plaintiffs charge that the Commission improperly relied upon a fixed mortality table in computing wrongful death benefits, without considering other factors normally utilized in assessing compensatory damages under the laws of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Micronesia) and general tenets of international law.

The District Court initially dismissed these cases, holding that the Act precluded judicial review of Commission decisions and that the court therefore lacked jurisdiction to consider plaintiffs' claims. Since the actions were initially dismissed, no ruling was issued by the District Court with respect to plaintiffs' requests for class action certification.

In Ralpho v. Bell, 569 F.2d 607 (D.C. Cir. 1977), rehearing denied, 569 F.2d 636 (D.C. Cir. 1977), this court reversed the District Court finding that the Act precluded all judicial review of Commission action. 569 F.2d at 625-26. The court remanded the case for further proceedings; the court also expressed its view that the plaintiffs in Ralpho had been denied due process of law if the Commission had in fact relied upon the property evaluation study. Id. at 629.

In Melong v. Micronesian Claims Commission, 569 F.2d 630 (D.C. Cir. 1977), rehearing denied, 569 F.2d 636 (D.C. Cir. 1977), the court similarly reversed the District Court, and also held directly that the Commission had violated its statutory mandate and improperly computed wrongful death benefits. 569 F.2d at 631. The court in Melong thus ordered that the awards to the individual plaintiffs be vacated and redetermined in a manner consistent with Trust Territory and international law. Id. at 635.

Since the District Court had not considered the motions for class certification, this court expressed no opinion on the propriety of class treatment. The court thus viewed each case as involving only the named plaintiffs, and left the matter of class certification for consideration on remand. See 569 F.2d at 611 n.4; 569 F.2d at 631 n.1.

On remand, the District Court denied class certification in each case. In Melong, the District Court held that class certification was improper because "the prerequisites of Local Rule 1-13(b) and Rules 23(a), 23(b)(1) and 23(b) (2), F.R.Civ.P. have not been satisfied." App. 225. ² In Ralpho, the District Court concluded that class certification should be denied because "the prerequisites of Rule 23(a) have not been satisfied." R. 42. ³ However, pursuant to the earlier decisions of this court remanding these cases, the District Court ordered the Commission to redetermine the claims of the individual plaintiffs in each case. App. 226; R. 43.

For the reasons presented below, we hold that the denial of class certification in these cases was proper. ⁴ We also refuse to reconsider the earlier opinions of this court and accordingly dismiss the Government's cross-appeal. The rulings of the District Court are therefore affirmed. ⁵

II.

Appellants in this case attempt to represent no less than all Micronesian claimants who now might seek a redetermination of their awards. As stated in their reply brief, appellants request that this court remand these cases to the District Court with instructions to "enter an order permitting these actions to be maintained on behalf of all those Micronesians whose claims were adjudicated by the Commission;" appellants also seek instructions that the District Court "enter judgment in favor of the plaintiff class and order the Commission to set aside the award of all claimants who elect to seek redetermination of their claims." Appellants' reply brief, p. 19. In addressing this request for class certification, it is necessary to backtrack and briefly highlight the manner in which claims were resolved under the Act.

Section 103 of the Act established a Micronesian Claims Commission, and directed that the Commission give extensive publicity to the provisions of the Act and assist all claimants in the preparation and filing of claims. Micronesian Claims Act of 1971, Pub.L.No. 92-39, § 103, 85 Stat. 92 (1971). Upon receiving a claim, the Commission was authorized to approve or deny it; any claimant whose claim was denied or approved only in part was entitled to a hearing before the Commission with respect to such claim. Id. § 104(a). At the hearing the Commission could affirm, modify, increase, or reduce any amount previously awarded. Id.

Upon the resolution of all claims, payment was to be made from a fixed fund established by Congress. The Act also provided, however:

No payment shall be made on an award of the Commission unless the claimant shall first execute a full release to the United States and Japan in respect to any alleged liability of the United States or Japan, or both, arising before the date of the securing of the various islands of Micronesia by the United States Armed Forces.

Id. § 104(d).

Appellants allege that there are in excess of 7,500 claimants in the classes that they here seek to certify. Appellants also admit, however, that as of February 2, 1978, there were only 311 claimants who had not executed the releases required by the Act. Appellants' reply brief, pp. 3-4. While the named plaintiffs are included within that small group of claimants who have not signed releases, the overwhelming majority of the proposed class members are not. The first question that we must resolve, therefore, is whether those proposed class members who have executed releases with the Government may be included within the plaintiffs' proposed classes.

This issue is not a novel one; it has been addressed often by courts in a variety of cases involving proposed class actions. In each instance, the court considering the question has concluded that proposed class members who have executed releases can not be represented by individuals who have not executed a release. We agree with this principle and, in the instant cases, hold that those claimants who have previously executed releases may not be included within appellants' proposed classes.

In Greeley v. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, 85 F.R.D. 697 (S.D.N.Y.1980), the plaintiff sought to represent a class of airline passengers with whom defendant KLM Royal Dutch Airlines had settled, or offered to settle, claims for lost baggage on terms that allegedly...