In Re Pacific Fertility Center Litigation
Filing
901
ORDER by Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley granting 883 Motion for Entry of Judgment under Rule 54(b). (ahm, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/13/2021)
Case 3:18-cv-01586-JSC Document 901 Filed 08/13/21 Page 1 of 5
1
2
3
4
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
5
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
6
7
IN RE: PACIFIC FERTILITY CENTER
LITIGATION
8
Re: A.B., C.D., E.D., G.H., and I.J
9
10
Case No. 18-cv-01586-JSC
ORDER RE: MOTION FOR ENTRY OF
JUDGMENT UNDER RULE 54(B)
Re: Dkt. No. 883
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
12
13
Plaintiffs A.B., C.D., E.F., G.H., and IJ prevailed at trial on their product liability and
14
failure to recall claims against Chart Industries. Because Plaintiffs also brought claims against
15
Pacific Fertility Center, Prelude, and Pacific MSO (the “PFC entities”) which have been stayed
16
pending arbitration, this action remains pending and judgment was not entered following the
17
jury’s verdict on Plaintiffs’ claims against Chart. Plaintiffs now move for entry of judgment under
18
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) arguing that there is no just reason to delay entry of
19
judgment on their claims against Chart pending arbitration of their claims against the remaining
20
Defendants. (Dkt. No. 883.) Having considered the parties’ briefs, the Court concludes that oral
21
argument is unnecessary, see N.D. Cal. Civ. L.R. 7-1(b), and GRANTS the motion.
22
23
DISCUSSION
Under Rule 54(b), “[w]hen an action presents more than one claim for relief ... or when
24
multiple parties are involved, the court may direct entry of a final judgment as to one or more, but
25
fewer than all, claims or parties only if the court expressly determines that there is no just reason
26
for delay.” This “Rule was adopted ‘specifically to avoid the possible injustice of delay[ing]
27
judgment o[n] a distinctly separate claim [pending] adjudication of the entire case.... The Rule thus
28
aimed to augment, not diminish, appeal opportunity.’” Jewel v. Nat’l Sec. Agency, 810 F.3d 622,
Case 3:18-cv-01586-JSC Document 901 Filed 08/13/21 Page 2 of 5
1
627–28 (9th Cir. 2015) (quoting Gelboim v. Bank of Am. Corp., 574 U.S. 405, 409-10 (2015)
2
(alterations in original)).
3
A two-step process governs the Rule 54(b) analysis. “A district court must first determine
4
that it has rendered a ‘final judgment,’ that is, a judgment that is ‘an ultimate disposition of an
5
individual claim entered in the course of a multiple claims action.’” Wood v. GCC Bend, LLC, 422
6
F.3d 873, 878 (9th Cir. 2005) (quoting Curtiss–Wright Corp. v. Gen. Elec. Co., 446 U.S. 1, 7
7
(1980)). Second, the court “must determine whether there is any just reason for delay.” Wood, 422
8
F.3d at 878. The latter determination focuses on: “(1) the interrelationship of the certified claims
9
and the remaining claims in light of the policy against piecemeal review; and (2) equitable factors
such as prejudice and delay.” Tsyn v. Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, No. 14-CV-02552-LB, 2016
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
WL 7635883, at *2 (N.D. Cal. June 27, 2016) (citing Curtiss-Wright, 446 U.S. at 8-10; Gregorian
12
v. Izvestia, 871 F.2d 1515, 1518-20 (9th Cir. 1989)).
13
“It is left to the sound judicial discretion of the district court to determine the ‘appropriate
14
time’ when each final decision in a multiple claims action is ready for appeal. This discretion is to
15
be exercised ‘in the interest of sound judicial administration.’” Jewel, 810 F.3d at 628 (quoting
16
Curtiss-Wright, 446 U.S. at 7); see also Jewel, 810 F.3d at 628 (“juridical concerns” regarding
17
piecemeal appeals are reviewed de novo; otherwise, “discretionary judgment of the district court
18
should be given substantial deference”).
19
A. Final Judgment as to Plaintiffs’ Claims Against Chart
20
Chart does not argue—nor could it—that the jury’s verdict in Plaintiffs’ favor on all three
21
of the claims pled, finding of damages, and allocation of fault between Chart and the PFC entities
22
constitutes a final judgment as to Plaintiffs’ claims against Chart. The jury’s verdict constitutes “a
23
judgment in the sense that it is a decision upon a cognizable claim for relief, and ... final in the
24
sense that it is an ultimate disposition of an individual claim entered in the course of a multiple
25
claims action.” Curtiss-Wright, 446 U.S. at 7 (internal citation and quotation marks omitted). The
26
first step of the Rule 54(b) inquiry is thus easily resolved.
27
B. Just Reasons to Delay Entry of Final Judgment
28
Having found finality, the Court must next determine whether there is any just reason for
2
Case 3:18-cv-01586-JSC Document 901 Filed 08/13/21 Page 3 of 5
1
delay considering the policy against piecemeal appeals and the equities involved. Curtiss-Wright,
2
446 U.S. at 8. Chart insists that entering final judgment here will spawn multiple appeals on
3
overlapping facts and legal issues and that the equities do not weigh in Plaintiffs’ favor. The
4
Court disagrees.
5
1) Avoidance of Piecemeal Litigation
6
Chart maintains that Rule 54(b) relief is inappropriate here because any appeal would not
resolve all of Plaintiffs’ claims nor would it include all the parties. See Jewel, 810 F.3d at 630 (“A
8
final complication is that not all of the parties are included in this appeal, nor does this appeal
9
resolve all of the Jewel plaintiffs’ claims.”). Chart emphasizes that Plaintiffs’ claims against the
10
PFC entities—which arise out of the same facts here—will be adjudicated in arbitration and the
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
7
arbitration decision will be subject to confirmation or vacatur by this Court, and to an appeal
12
following this Court’s decision.
13
Chart relies heavily on the Ninth Circuit’s statement in Wood that “[t]he greater the overlap
14
the greater the chance that this court will have to revisit the same facts—spun only slightly
15
differently—in a successive appeal.” 422 F.3d at 882. However, as Plaintiffs note, the Ninth
16
Circuit also stated that “[w]e do not mean to suggest that claims with overlapping facts are
17
foreclosed from being separate for purposes of Rule 54(b). Certainly they are not.” Id. at 881. In
18
Wood, “the factual issues overlap[ped] entirely—not just substantially; and the only legal right
19
asserted [wa]s the right not to be discriminated against on account of age.” Id. at 882.
20
While the factual circumstances underlying Plaintiffs’ claims against Chart are nearly the
21
same as for their claims against the PFC entities, “the claims under review [are] separable from the
22
others remaining to be adjudicated and [] the nature of the claims already determined [is] such that
23
no appellate court would have to decide the same issues more than once even if there were
24
subsequent appeals.” Curtiss-Wright, 446 U.S. at 8. That is, although Chart’s appeal could raise
25
challenges to the jury’s factual findings and this Court’s legal conclusions, an appeal of the
26
arbitration decision regarding the PFC entities would not have a similar scope. “Neither erroneous
27
legal conclusions nor unsubstantiated factual findings justify federal court review of an arbitral
28
award under the statute.” Biller v. Toyota Motor Corp., 668 F.3d 655, 662 (9th Cir. 2012).
3
Case 3:18-cv-01586-JSC Document 901 Filed 08/13/21 Page 4 of 5
1
Chart’s insistence that the Court’s review of the arbitration decision “necessitates analyzing how
2
the arbitrators applied the law to the facts of the case, the same facts Chart will raise on appeal” is
3
unavailing. (Dkt. No. 896 at 5.) “[T]he FAA does not sanction judicial review of the merits, and
4
whether or not the panel’s findings are supported by the evidence in the record is beyond the scope
5
of our review.” Lagstein v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, 607 F.3d 634, 640–41 (9th
6
Cir. 2010) (cleaned up).
7
Accordingly, juridical concerns such as avoidance of piecemeal litigation do not weigh
8
against Rule 54(b) certification here.
9
2) Equitable Considerations
Next, the Court must consider “traditional equitable principles such as prejudice and
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
delay.” Gregorian v. Izvestia, 871 F.2d 1515, 1519 (9th Cir. 1989). Plaintiffs insist that the
12
equities weigh decidedly in favor of immediate entry of judgment because it would delay entry of
13
judgment by at least a year and “deprive Plaintiffs of the use of their sizable monetary awards for
14
fertility services made necessary by the tank failure.” (Dkt. No. 883 at 7.) Plaintiffs also argue
15
that a lengthy delay would prejudice the claims of other IVF patients who were harmed by the
16
same incident suggesting that these individuals “will likely be entitled to rely on the res judicata
17
effects of that trial in their own proceedings.” (Id. at 8.)
18
Chart’s argument that Plaintiffs will not be prejudiced by any delay because any delay
19
would be minor is unpersuasive for several reasons. First, to the extent that Plaintiffs seek to use
20
the damages awards to pursue fertility services, any delay in their ability to do so is prejudicial.
21
Second, that the arbitration with the PFC entities is set for 2022 is unavailing given the pace of the
22
arbitration proceedings—the Court first compelled arbitration of Plaintiffs’ claims against PFC in
23
2019—and even if the arbitration occurs in 2022 there is no certainty as to when a decision will
24
issue thereafter (or at least Chart has not pointed to anything that requires a decision within a
25
certain amount of time). Finally, that Plaintiffs have reached a settlement in principal with the
26
PFC entities which would resolve Plaintiffs’ arbitration claims as part of a global settlement does
27
not weigh against entry of judgment against Chart now. While Chart suggests that the Court will
28
need to offset Chart’s obligation to Plaintiffs to account for the settlement payment, Plaintiffs
4
Case 3:18-cv-01586-JSC Document 901 Filed 08/13/21 Page 5 of 5
1
persuasively note that any such offset is both speculative and would only relate to the economic
2
damages and not the $13.05 million in non-economic damages. See Garcia v. Duro Dyne Corp.,
3
156 Cal. App. 4th 92, 100 (2007) (“a nonsettling defendant is not entitled to an offset for such a
4
settlement until the settlement monies have been paid.”); Id. at 102 (“a nonsettling defendant is not
5
entitled to an offset credit under section 877 for the portion of any settlement that is attributable to
6
noneconomic damages.”).
7
8
Accordingly, the balance of equities weighs in Plaintiffs’ favor and there is no just reason
to delay entry of judgment.
CONCLUSION
9
10
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
12
13
For the reasons stated above, Plaintiffs’ motion for entry of judgment under Rule 54(b) is
GRANTED.
The Clerk is instructed to enter final judgment on Plaintiffs’ claims against Chart using the
proposed final judgment submitted by Plaintiffs. (Dkt. No. 883-1.)
14
This Order disposes of Docket No. 883.
15
IT IS SO ORDERED.
16
Dated: August 13, 2021
17
18
JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY
United States Magistrate Judge
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
5
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?