Sandwich Chef of Texas, Inc. v. Reliance National Indemnity Insurance

FITZWATER, District Judge:

Fraud actions that require proof of individual reliance cannot be certified as Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3) class actions because individual, rather than common, issues will predominate. The district court certified a nationwide Rule 23(b)(3) class in this RICO1 fraud action based on alleged overcharging of workers’ compensation insurance premiums. It did so by eliminating, on substantive grounds, plaintiff-specific issues of reliance and causation. We hold that the district court erred as a matter of law in doing so and thus abused its discretion in certifying this case as…