State ex rel. Surnaik Holdings of WV, LLC v. Bedell
Decision Date | 20 November 2020 |
Docket Number | No. 19-1006,19-1006 |
Citation | 852 S.E.2d 748 |
Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
Parties | STATE of West Virginia EX REL. SURNAIK HOLDINGS OF WV, LLC, Petitioner v. The Honorable Thomas A. BEDELL, Sitting by Assignment as Judge of the Circuit Court of Wood County and Paul Snider, on Behalf of Himself and a Class of Others Similarly Situated, Respondents |
Ryan McCune Donovan, J. Zak Ritchie, Andrew C. Robey, Hissam Forman Donovan Ritchie PLLC, Charleston, West Virginia, Attorneys for the Petitioner.
Alex McLaughlin, John H. Skaggs, Calwell Luce diTrapano PLLC, Charleston, West Virginia, Attorneys for the Respondent, Paul Snider, on behalf of himself and a class of others similarly situated.
Jenkins, Justice:
This matter is before this Court on a petition for writ of prohibition. Respondent the Honorable Thomas A. Bedell, sitting by assignment as Judge of the Circuit Court of Wood County, certified a class action against Petitioner, Surnaik Holdings of WV, PLLC ("Surnaik"). The circuit court named Respondent Paul Snider ("Mr. Snider") as class representative. Surnaik asserts that the circuit court clearly erred in certifying this class and asks this Court to prohibit the circuit court from conducting any further proceedings in this case until the circuit court has vacated its class certification order. Based upon the record before us, the arguments of the parties, and the applicable law, we find that the circuit court exceeded its jurisdiction by failing to conduct an appropriate and thorough analysis of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a) and 23(b) class certification requirements. Accordingly, we grant the writ of prohibition as moulded and vacate the circuit court's order certifying the class action.
In the early morning hours of Saturday, October 21, 2017, a fire erupted at a warehouse owned by Surnaik in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The fire burned from October 21 to October 29. Mr. Snider asserts that the fire "emitted a plume of smoke—consisting primarily of particulate matter and gases—that adversely impacted neighboring property owners and lessees for days, residents as well as businesses and government agencies." Mr. Snider further alleges that "[t]he most obvious and immediate adverse impact—as well as the one that is common to all members of the class—is annoyance resulting from the smoke itself, which at certain concentrations is irritating to the nose and throat of most[,] if not all[,] persons."
Mr. Snider, on behalf of himself and on behalf of a class of others similarly situated, filed a complaint against Surnaik in the Circuit Court of Wood County, on October 30, 2017.1 In the complaint, Mr. Snider alleged negligence; reckless, willful, and wanton indifference motivated by financial gain; nuisance; trespass; and "class action allegations." Furthermore, in the complaint, Mr. Snider sought to "represent a class that consists of all residents and businesses within an 8.5 mile radius of the warehouse, which was located on the 3800 block of Camden Avenue, in Parkersburg, West Virginia." Mr. Snider indicated that Mr. Snider requested compensatory damages in the form of diminution in value of property, loss of the right to use and enjoy property, lost business profits, and personal injuries, as well as punitive damages. Surnaik answered the complaint in November 2018.2
Subsequently, on April 30, 2019, Mr. Snider filed a motion for class certification and memorandum of law in support thereof ("the motion"). In the motion, Mr. Snider defined the class3 as follows:
Mr. Snider further alleged that the requirements of West Virginia Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)4 were met: numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation. In addition, Mr. Snider asserted that this action also met the requirements of Rule 23(b)(3)5 —predominance and superiority.
On May 31, 2019, Surnaik responded to Mr. Snider's motion, contending that class certification is not appropriate because (1) a class cannot be certified when a significant number of proposed class members are uninjured; (2) a class action is not superior to other available methods for adjudication of the matter; (3) Mr. Snider is not an adequate representative because he knows little about the case and admitted he could not be fair to certain class members; and (4) Mr. Snider's claims are not typical of the class claims because he has not suffered any property damage. As such, Surnaik urged the circuit court to deny the motion for class certification because Mr. Snider failed to satisfy all four prerequisites contained in Rule 23(a) —namely typicality and adequacy of representation—and the predominance and superiority requirements of Rule 23(b)(3). Additionally, Surnaik contended that Mr. Snider failed to satisfy the implicit requirement of ascertainability, as well as standing. Mr. Snider then filed a reply in support of his class certification motion.
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