Issue

Class certification—fees charged to developers by town—individualized issues predominating over common issues of law and fact

Summary

In a putative class action lawsuit seeking a declaration that a town's "recreation fees"–charged to developers constructing new subdivisions in the town in lieu of dedicating a portion of the subdivisions for use as public parks or other recreation areas–were illegal and must be refunded, the trial court's order certifying a class that included all of plaintiff's claims for declaratory relief was vacated because the class included several claims for which individualized issues predominated over common issues of law and fact, such as the fair market value of real property or the cost that a particular development imposed on the town. The matter was remanded for a new class certification analysis based on claims not involving individualized fact issues, including whether fracturing the declaratory judgment action would create potential claim-splitting concerns or would otherwise no longer be the superior means of adjudicating the remaining claims.

Summary from the North Carolina Reports digest (official subject index). Read the opinion →