The Eighth Circuit reversed a federal district court’s decision to certify a class of plaintiff homeowners against General Mills. According to the lawsuit, General Mills allowed pollutants to decrease the plaintiffs’ property values. Unfortunately for the plaintiffs, the Eighth Circuit determined that their injury was too atypical. It’s a major victory for General Mills to say the least.

And it seems to place limits on the earlier SCOTUS case of Tyson Foods Inc. v. Bouaphaeko in which the court based its certification on statistical evidence of commonality despite individualized injuries.

The federal court’s decision effectively undoes the class status by some 200 homeowners in the Como neighborhood of Minneapolis who brought a collective action against General Mills alleging that the company allowed the leakage of trichloroethylene under their homes, thereby harming property values.

Highly Individualized

But the circuit felt that each of the plaintiff’s harms were highly individualized. “These matters … will still need to be resolved household by household even if a determination can be made classwide on the fact and extent of General Mills’ role in the contamination, [for] which determination is problematic,” Circuit Judge C. Arlen wrote. In fact, the homes in the Como neighborhood were dispersed in such a way that there was a material question as to the level of variable injury to each. Additionally, the homes were different in age, structure, and footprint.

Not About the Merits

The plaintiffs’ attorney was of course not pleased with the decision, but underscored that the circuit made the decision purely on procedure and that the merits of each of the plaintiffs’ claims remained intact.

Related Resources:

  • Mpls. Residents sue General Mills Over Pollutant in Soil (StarTribune)
  • 8th Circuit Clarifies When a Party Loses Arbitration Rights (FindLaw’s U.S. Eighth Circuit Blog)
  • 8th Affirms Denial to Let Fraudster Represent Himself Pro Se (FindLaw’s U.S. Eighth Circuit Blog)
  • State Inquiry Into Obama Critic, Tea Partier Didn’t Chill Speech (FindLaw’s U.S. Eighth Circuit Blog)

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