Caro
Caro v. Procter & Gamble Co.
Opinion
Opinion
Kremer, J.
Plaintiff Stephen J. Caro appeals an order denying his motion for class certification of his lawsuit against defendants The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), N.W. Ayer, Inc. (Ayer), and The Vons Companies, Inc. (Vons). Caro contends in denying class certification the superior court applied improper legal criteria, impermissibly weighed the lawsuit’s merits, and made unsupported findings about the atypicality of Caro’s claims and the predominance of individual questions over common issues. We affirm the order.
I
Caro’s Complaint
In April 1991 Caro filed a class action complaint against defendants for fraud and deceit; negligent misrepresentation; unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business practice (Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 17200, 17500); violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) (Civ. Code, § 1750 et seq.); unjust enrichment and imposition of constructive trust; breach of contract and rescission; misbranding food (Health & Saf. Code, § 26566); and falsely advertising food (Health & Saf. Code, §§ 26460, 26461).
Caro’s complaint alleged: Defendants falsely represented various P&G “Citrus Hill” products to be fresh orange juice, made from the heart of the orange, 100…