Basurco

In this case, plaintiffs seek to certify a class consisting of homeowners who were allegedly denied insurance benefits by 21st Century Insurance Company and 21st Century Casualty Company (both 21st Century) in the aftermath of the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake.

The trial court denied plaintiffs’ class certification motion, finding that common questions of law and fact did not predominate over individual issues and that a class action would not be superior to individual lawsuits. We agree with the reasons given by the trial court and affirm.

I

Background

This appeal involves two cases consolidated in the trial court, Basurco v. 21st Century Ins. Co. (Super. Ct. L.A. County, 1999, No. BC212224) (Basurco), and Frew v. 21st Century Casualty Co. (Super. Ct. L.A. County, 2001, No. BC243390) (Frew).

Plaintiffs’ homeowners policies with 21st Century contained a standard “Suit Against Us” provision, which stated: “No action shall be brought unless there has been compliance with the policy provisions and the action is started within one year after the occurrence causing loss or damage.” Plaintiffs allege that 21st Century improperly calculated the one-year period from…