Class Actions Brief Blog

The Supreme Court’s articulation of the “new” commonality standard – that class members must suffer the same injury – in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), doomed plaintiffs attempts to certify a class of South Carolinians challenging the practices of Liberty Tax franchisees with their customers. In Martin v. JTH Tax, Inc. (D.S.C. 2013), Judge Norton denied plaintiffs’ motion for class certification, noting that “the varying factual scenarios between putative class members,” as well as “the requisite inquiries about the alleged injuries” make “class treatment inappropriate.” In Judge Norton's view, the “scheme” alleged by plaintiffs could not be adjudicated in one fell swoop because it was not “put in action at every office and by every tax preparer in South Carolina in the same or similar fashion.” In the Court’s estimation, neither commonality nor predominance was satisfied because of “the individualized determinations that will be required.”