Class, Certified.

May 23, 2023

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the certification of a class of GEICO car-insurance policyholders in Angell v. GEICO Adv. Ins. Co., holding, inter alia:

  • 3 ways to breach 1 contract = 1 injury. “GEICO’s failure to remit any of the three Purchasing Fees amounts to the same harm—a breach of the Policies. Whether GEICO is liable to Plaintiffs for any of the Purchasing Fees is dependent on an interpretation on the same language in the Policies and how the Policies to support the standing approach …. Although each of the Purchasing Fees may accrue differently, e.g., through the acquisition of a vehicle or upon the expiration of a vehicle’s registration, the complained injury stems from GEICO’s failed remittance, not the costs as assessed by the State.”
  • 1 injury = typicality. “The course of conduct here is virtually the
    same across the alleged deprivations of each Purchasing Fee, i.e., whether
    GEICO breached the Policies.”
  • 1 injury = predominance. “[T]he need for individual calculation here is relatively minor when compared to the common issues that predominate. And Plaintiffs articulate a reasonably ascertainable formula. Sales tax is equivalent to 6.25% of [Adjusted Vehicle Value], and Plaintiffs contend that it can be calculated for almost 97% of the class without resort to individualized review.”

No. 22-20093 (May 12, 2023) (all citations omitted).

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