VIRGINIA M. HERNANDEZ COVINGTON, District Judge.
This matter comes before the Court on consideration of Plaintiff Conrad Case's Motion for Class Certification (Doc. # 55) filed on November 4, 2019. Defendant Grady Judd, in his official capacity as Polk County Sheriff, filed a response in opposition (Doc. # 64) on November 22, 2019. Upon due consideration and for the reasons set forth below, the Motion for Class Certification (Doc. # 55) is denied.
Case initiated this putative class action on March 11, 2019. (Doc. # 1). Before Judd responded, Case filed an amended complaint (Doc. # 5), which Judd moved to dismiss. (Doc. # 20). With leave of court, Case filed a second amended complaint on May 15, 2019, alleging claims due to Judd's violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act, 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301, et seq. (USERRA) (Doc. # 26). Case seeks relief on behalf of himself and a proposed class that includes current and former employees of the Polk County Sheriff's Office with military backgrounds who were passed over for promotions due to their membership in the uniformed services. (
Judd filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings directed to Count I, arguing no private cause of action exists for a purported failure to give veteran preferences under Florida law or the USERRA. (Doc. # 36). On October 23, 2019, this Court granted Judd's motion in part, finding that veteran's preference policies set forth in Florida Statute § 295.09(1)(a) are not "benefits of employment" under USERRA. (Doc. # 53). In so ruling, this Court entered judgment in Judd's favor on Count I to the extent that the claims in Count I are predicated on Judd's alleged failure to apply Florida's veteran's preference in promotional decisions. (
Case filed the instant Motion on November 4, 2019, (Doc. # 55), and Judd has responded. (Doc. # 64). With leave of court, both sides filed documents under seal containing personal identifying information of individuals not party to this suit. (Docs. # 60, 66). The Motion is now ripe for review.
A district court has broad discretion in determining whether to certify a class.
Under Rule 23(a), a class may be certified only if:
Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a). The burden of proof to establish the propriety of class certification rests with the advocate of the class, and failure to establish any one of the four Rule 23(a) factors and at least one of the alternative requirements of Rule 23(b) precludes class certification.
This Court must conduct a rigorous analysis of the Rule 23 prerequisites before certifying a class.
Under USERRA,
38 U.S.C. § 4311(a). "Congress enacted USERRA `to encourage noncareer service in the uniformed services by eliminating or minimizing the disadvantages to civilian careers and employment which can result from such service' and `to minimize the disruption to the lives of persons performing service in the uniformed services as well as to their employers.'"
Case contends uniformed service members were not provided equal opportunity for promotions because a candidate for promotion had to "make rounds" and meet with members of the chain-of-command, which he claims service members were unable to do due to absences related to military service. (Doc. # 26 at ¶ 21). Case submits this policy discriminated against service members in violation of the USERRA, and he seeks relief on behalf of himself and others similarly situated.
Case seeks certification of a class of individuals of veterans and active military members who were passed over for promotions in violation of the USERRA while employed with the Polk County Sheriff's Office. Class certification is governed by Rule 23. Rule 23 implicitly requires that the proposed class is "adequately defined and clearly ascertainable."
Case proposes the following class definition for certification:
(2) who was denied a promotion(s) to the position of Sergeant and/or Lieutenant due to their membership in the uniformed services.
(Doc. # 55 at 1).
In defining a proposed class, a plaintiff must adequately identify who its members are.
Case submits the class consists of 71 individuals — current and former employees of the Sheriff's Office who are or were in the military during the relevant time frame and who were denied a promotion to Sergeant or Lieutenant. A review of employment records and promotion eligibility lists should be able to readily identify who these individuals are and where they are located, and thus the class is ascertainable.
Judd disputes this case is appropriate for class certification and argues the proposed class lacks scope and clarity. (Doc. # 64 at 1). He claims the proposed class definition is inconsistent with Case's own allegations and the actual evidence. (
Although the "description of the class must be sufficiently definite to enable the court to determine if a particular individual is a member of the proposed class,"
Once a class is adequately defined, a court must determine if the provisions of Rule 23(a) and 23(b) have been met. Under Rule 23(a), a class may be certified only if (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members would be impracticable; (2) there are questions of fact and law common to the class; (3) the claims or defenses of the representatives are typical of the claims and defenses of the unnamed members; and (4) the named representatives will be able to represent the interests of the class adequately and fairly.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)(1) requires that the class be "so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable." Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(1). While "mere allegations of numerosity are insufficient," Rule 23(a)(1) imposes a "generally low hurdle," and "a plaintiff need not show the precise number of members in the class."
According to Case, the proposed class consists of approximately 71 individuals. (Doc. # 55 at 10). Case states he determined this number after a detailed review of Judd's promotional records. (
In response, Judd argues the proposed class should not include the claims of veterans ultimately promoted as it is illogical to state their military status was a detriment during one eligibility period but not during a latter period in which they received a promotion. Judd submits that a class definition that includes veterans conflicts with Case's own allegations that the alleged discrimination discontinued once an active service member retired and became a veteran. According to Judd, under Case's allegations, the class would comprise, at most, three individual active service members — Craig Powers, Jennifer Harris, and Case. (Doc. # 64 at 6). And Judd represents that of the three, Case was the only one not promoted.
Clearly, three class members would fail Rule 23(a)'s numerosity requirement. While the Eleventh Circuit has indicated that having more than 40 class plaintiffs is generally enough to satisfy the numerosity requirement,
Given the disputes as to whether the class should include veterans and/or those who ultimately were promoted, it is unclear whether Case can prove the numerosity requirement has been met. Presumably, Case's argument is that although nineteen individuals were never promoted, the remaining 52 of the 71 service members were passed over at least once for a promotion due to their military status before ultimately receiving a promotion. And given the "generally low hurdle," Case could arguably satisfy the numerosity prerequisite. Even so, his Motion fails because he does not meet the commonality and typicality requirements of Rule 23 as discussed below.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)(2) requires that there be "questions of law or fact common to the class." Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(2). Commonality pertains to the characteristics of the group or class as a whole, unlike typicality which refers to the individual characteristics of the class representative as compared to those of the class members.
Commonality "does not require complete identity of legal claims."
In
Case argues that the commonality requirement is satisfied here because the "overriding question is whether [Judd] violated 38 U.S.C. § 4311(a) by systematically denying members of the uniformed services promotions due to their membership in the uniformed services." (Doc. # 55 at 11). He submits that whether the class members' military service was a motivating factor in Judd's decision not to promote current and former service members to positions of Sergeant and Lieutenant is a central issue relevant to all class members. In support of his allegations of a discriminatory animus toward service members, Case relies on several comments made by the Chief of Staff questioning him about time he spent away from his job due to military absences.
Case generally alleges that the "promotional decisions are uniformly carried out by the same group of decision-makers at the same location," but he proffers no evidence to support this statement. (Doc. # 55 at 12). To the contrary, Judd explains there is both an objective and subjective component to the promotional process. (Doc. # 64 at 9). The subjective component involves a hierarchy of decision-makers. (
Judd argues that commonality is lacking because the promotional decisions at issue involved at least 125 decision-makers over the 15-year period, with at least 30 of them having some military background. In further support, he notes that those individuals are expected to testify their backgrounds and service were actually a positive factor in the promotional process. (Doc. # 64 at 11). Notably, Judd did not become sheriff until 2005.
As observed by the Supreme Court in
Case also argues that a statistical analysis supports the common allegations of class-wide discrimination against military members. He cites to various years in which the promotions of military members were seemingly low. (Doc. # 55 at 5-6). However, Case's "analysis" appears, at best, random, selecting certain years, skipping others, and citing percentages for promotions to Sergeant in one year and Lieutenant in another with no comparative data of any of the percentages to non-military members promoted during the same time frame. While Judd acknowledges that statistical analysis can support a finding of patterns or practices of discrimination,
Finally, Case seeks to demonstrate commonality by pointing to other alleged common issues, such as Judd's failure to treat military-related absences as continuous employment. As discussed previously, this issue is the subject of Count II, which is not asserted on behalf of the class, nor does it form the basis for the proposed class definition. Accordingly, Case fails to satisfy the commonality requirement, and his Motion is due to be denied. Moreover, no amendment to his class definition would resurrect his bid for certification because, as class plaintiff, Case fails the typicality requirement.
The focus of Rule 23(a)(3) typicality is whether the class representative's interests are so aligned with the proposed class that he may stand in their shoes for the purposes of the litigation and bind them in a judgment on the merits.
To establish typicality, "there must be a nexus between the class representative's claims or defenses and the common questions of fact or law which unite the class."
Case argues there is nothing to suggest his claims are atypical. (Doc. # 55 at 14). Judd disagrees, arguing Case's situation differs significantly from that of other members of the class. "The typicality requirement is met when in proving its case, the representative plaintiff establishes the element needed to prove the class members' case."
The lack of typicality between Case and the putative class members is further evidenced by Judd's explanation of Case's time spent working for the Sheriff's Office. According to Donna Parker, the director of human resources for the Polk County Sheriff's Office, during the period from 2004 to 2019, Case worked a total of 1,232.5 hours compared to the 28,797 hours of leave (military and otherwise) he took during the same time frame. (Doc. # 66 at ¶¶ 34, 37). The net result is 4.28% of his recorded hours were spent working for the Sheriff's Office. Case did not work any hours for the Sheriff's Office in 2005, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, or 2018 (nine of the sixteen years at issue). (
According to Judd, Case being away from his Sheriff's Office job more than 95% of the time presents unique challenges for his office to subjectively evaluate Case for promotions. Case proffers no evidence to suggest that any other putative class member was absent near the amount of time as he was. "[T]he typicality provision requires a demonstration that there are other members of the class who have the same or similar grievances as the plaintiff."
In the employment context, when a plaintiff seeks to represent a class of employees, the plaintiff fails to satisfy the typicality prong if his personal situation or choices give rise to defenses not available as an explanation for alleged discrimination of other class members.
Case's unique situation also demonstrates why he fails to satisfy the final requirement for class certification under Rule 23(a): adequate representation.
The adequacy of representation analysis involves two inquiries: "(1) whether any substantial conflicts of interest exist between the representatives and the class, and (2) whether the representatives will adequately prosecute the action."
Given the peculiar situation in which Case only worked the equivalent of 31 workweeks (less than 8 months) over a 16-year period,
Although the Court finds Case's Motion is due to be denied for failing to satisfy the Rule 23(a) criteria, the Court will briefly discuss why his Motion also fails to satisfy at least one of the alternative requirements of Rule 23(b).
Rule 23(b) provides:
Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b).
In the Motion, Case seeks certification under Rule 23(b)(3). (Doc. # 55 at 15). Rule 23(b)(3) includes two requirements: (1) that questions of law or fact common to the members of the class predominate over any questions affecting only individual members (predominance) and (2) that a class action is superior to other available methods for fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy (superiority).
Under Rule 23(b)(3), "[i]t is not necessary that all questions of fact or law be common, but only that some questions are common and that they predominate over individual questions."
"The predominance inquiry requires an examination of `the claims, defenses, relevant facts, and applicable substantive law,' . . . to assess the degree to which resolution of the classwide issues will further each individual class member's claim against the defendant."
In his Motion, Case claims he can establish there was a pattern or practice of discrimination that permeated the Sheriff's office. He argues that such department-wide policy supports a finding of a predominant common issue. And answering that common issue, he posits, will resolve the class's claims.
However, as discussed in the commonality section above, the proof Case offers to support the alleged discriminatory policies are individual comments directed to him by a single decision-maker. Given the number of decision-makers potentially involved, Case cannot rely on the statements of a sole individual, particularly given his unique circumstances. Additionally, Case's statistical analysis, which randomly cites data from various years without providing comparative date for non-military promotions for the same time frame, is not evidence of a department-wide discriminatory animus. Case's individual issues appear to predominate over the class questions, and thus he fails to satisfy this prong of Rule 23(b).
The superiority requirement of Rule 23(b)(3) focuses "not on the convenience or burden of a class action suit per se, but on the relative advantages of a class action suit over whatever other forms of litigation might be realistically available to the plaintiffs."
The Court has examined the factors enumerated in Rule 23(b)(3)(A)-(D), such as "the class members' interest in individually controlling the prosecution . . . of separate actions," "the desirability or undesirability of concentrating the litigation of the claims in the particular forum," and manageability issues. After so doing, the Court determines that class wide resolution of the dispute is not beneficial or favorable here. This is especially so because the Court has already determined that Case fails to satisfy the predominance prong of Rule 23(b)(3).
Case fails to satisfy the requirements of Rules 23(a) and (b). As a result, the Court denies Case's Rule 23 Motion for Class Certification.
Accordingly, it is now
Plaintiff's Rule 23 Motion for Class Certification (Doc. # 55) is