Carter v. The Dial Corporation

Filing 152

ORDER denying (165) Motion for an Evidentiary Hearing in case 1:11-md-02263-SM (as well as the respective motions filed in the underlying civil cases). If oral argument is desired on the certification motion, counsel shall co nfer with the Deputy Clerk regarding convenient dates for oral argument. Defendant shall file is sur-reply in opposition to the motion for class certification within 30 days of the date of this Order. So Ordered by Judge Steven J. McAuliffe.(jab)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In re: Dial Complete Marketing
and Sales Practices Litigation

Case No. 11-md-2263-SM
ALL CASES
Opinion No. 2014 DNH 148

O R D E R
Defendant’s Motion for an Evidentiary Hearing on Class
Certification, doc. no. 165, is denied.

In support of their

respective class certification arguments the parties have
submitted extensive evidence that goes well beyond the pleadings,
including expert reports and depositions; the deposition
testimony by the named plaintiffs and Dial’s Vice President in
charge of Dial Complete marketing; reports about customer
purchasing habits; and statements from Dial employees.

See

Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, ___ U.S. ___, 131 S. Ct. 1426, 1432
(2013) (courts should “probe behind the pleadings before coming
to rest on the certification question.”) (quotation marks
omitted).

In light of that substantial body of evidence and

extensive briefing by the parties, the court perceives no
substantial need in this case for additional live testimony.

See

In re Puerto Rican Cabotage Antitrust Litig., 269 F.R.D. 125,
130, 135 (D.P.R. 2010) (Dominguez, J.) (finding no need for
evidentiary hearing in resolving class certification issues where
the court “received ample evidence from all parties,” including

“affidavits and expert reports.”); In re eBay Seller Antitrust
Litig., 2009 WL 2779374, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 1, 2009) (denying
defendant’s request for evidentiary hearing “given the breadth
. . .

of the record available in this case” and because the

proposed hearing testimony had already been submitted in
deposition testimony and in expert reports).

To the extent defendant wishes to “highlight the testimony
and documents that each side considers most relevant to class
certification” (Def. Br., doc. no. 165-1, at 7), oral argument
will suffice.

To the extent defendant wishes to address the

“brand new expert report” (id. at 1) that plaintiffs referenced
in their reply brief in support of their motion for class
certification, that is best done in a sur-reply.

Of course,

“should this Court conclude that the record requires
supplementing or clarifying in the process of writing its
Memorandum Opinion and Order resolving the pending [motion for
class certification], it will inform the parties.”

In re

Polyurethane Foam Antitrust Litig., Case No. 1:10-md-2196-JZ, at
4-5 (N.D. Ohio Dec. 20, 2013).

Counsel shall confer with the Deputy Clerk regarding
convenient dates for oral argument, if oral argument is desired
on the certification motion.

Defendant shall file its sur-reply

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in opposition to the motion for class certification within 30
days of the date of this Order.

SO ORDERED.

____________________________
Steven J. McAuliffe
United States District Judge
June 26, 2014
cc:

Richard J. Arsenault, Esq.
Eugene F. Assaf, Esq.
Daniel E. Becnel, Jr., Esq.
Robert M. Becnel, Esq.
Karl A. Bekeny, Esq.
Paul E. Benson, Esq.
Amy Bloom, Esq.
Jordan L. Chaikin, Esq.
Elizabeth M. Chiarello, Esq.
Salvadore Christina, Jr., Esq.
John R. Climaco, Esq.
Randall S. Crompton, Esq.
Stuart A. Davidson, Esq.
Mark J. Dearman, Esq.
Douglas P. Dehler, Esq.
Christopher M. Ellis, Esq.
John E. Galvin, III, Esq.
Jonathan H. Garside, Esq.
Mark J. Geragos, Esq.
Jayne A. Goldstein, Esq.
Eric D. Holland, Esq.
Edwin J. U, Esq.
D. Scott Kalish, Esq.
Lucy J. Karl, Esq.
Shelley Kaufman, Esq.
Sean T. Keith, Esq.
Adam J. Levitt, Esq.
Patricia E. Lowry, Esq.
Thomas D. Mauriello, Esq.
Robert H. Miller, Esq.
Matthew B. Moreland, Esq.
Cullen A. O’Brien, Esq.
Edward K. O’Brien, Esq.
John A. Peca, Jr., Esq.
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Chad W. Pekron, Esq.
Frank E. Piscitelli, Jr., Esq.
David C. Rash, Esq.
Richard D. Raskin, Esq.
Allison W. Reimann, Esq.
Fred R. Rosenthal, Esq.
Charles E. Schaffer, Esq.
Miriam L. Schimmel, Esq.
Gerard B. Schneller, Esq.
Eugene A. Schoon, Esq.
James C. Shah, Esq.
Joseph J. Siprut, Esq.
Andrew J. Sokolowski, Esq.
Steven J. Stolze, Esq.
Reginald Von Terrell, Esq.
John C. Theisen, Esq.
Robert C. Tucker, Esq.
John M. Turner, Esq.
Patrick G. Warner, Esq.
Robert R. Younger, Esq.

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