I wouldn't have thought this class action would be certified. I also wouldn't have thought that the trial court's refusal to certify the thing would be reversed.
I must say, though, that Justice Miller's opinion is fairly persuasive. He's not necessarily saying that the class action must be certified. The Court of Appeal simply holds that the trial court applied the wrong legal standards in places. And, in retrospect, that's probably right.
Might you, I wouldn't at all be sad to see the class in fact certified. From what I read in the opinion -- and from the Google reviews of the property -- the apartment complex at issue is indeed a disgusting place to live. Definitely not a place I'd want to be, nor a place I'd want to have in charge of my security deposit.
Still, I'd have thought that the individual issues would predominate over the class claims. Yet Justice Miller rightly points out that there are indeed some fairly solid common issues capable of classwide proof; e.g., the condition of the common areas and whether various advertisements were false. So, yeah, maybe some of the claims in the action can indeed be certified.
We'll see on remand.
Meanwhile, even though the pictures look nice, word on the street -- or at least in the Court of Appeal -- is that you should think twice before necessarily believing that the Arbors at California Oaks are indeed the "luxury apartments" they purport to be.
'Cause it don't sound good.
