Intratex Gas Co. v. Beeson

in which Chief Justice PHILLIPS, Justice HECHT, Justice ENOCH, Justice OWEN, Justice BAKER, Justice ABBOTT, and Justice GONZALES joined.

This appeal from a trial court’s decision to certify a class presents two issues: first, whether the class in a class-action lawsuit may be defined by the ultimate liability issue; and second, whether an appellate court may redefine an erroneously defined class. Plaintiffs allege that Intratex Gas Company did not take natural gas in ratable proportions from the wells of more than 900 producers. The trial court defined the plaintiff class as consisting of…