Douglas Campion v. Old Republic Protection Co.

dissenting:

While I agree with the ultimate result in this case—Campion loses—I dissent from the majority’s holding that the appeal is moot. Under our current precedent, Cam-pion’s appeal remains viable, even if he has voluntarily settled his individual claims, as he retained a personal stake in the outcome—litigating like a private attorney general on behalf of the proposed class.

The majority holds that when a named plaintiff voluntarily settles his claim and no longer has a personal financial stake in the litigation, he lacks. Article III standing to act on behalf of the class. But, according to the majority, a plaintiff whose financial interest expires involuntarily retains Article III standing. See Majority at 5-8.

In Narouz v. Charter Communications, LLC, we held “that when a class representative voluntarily settles his or her individual claims, but specifically retains a personal stake as identified by [United States Parole Commission v. Geraghty, 445 U.S. 388 , 100 S.Ct. 1202 , 63 L.Ed.2d 479 (1980) ], and [Deposit Guaranty National Bank v. Roper, 445 U.S. 326 , 100 S.Ct. 1166 , 63 L.Ed.2d 427 (1980) ], he or she retains jurisdiction to appeal the denial of class…

PER CURIAM Opinion; Dissent by Judge OWENS.

OPINION

Douglas J. Campion appeals the district court’s orders denying his motion for class certification, denying his motion for leave to amend his complaint, and granting Defendant Old Republic’s motion for partial summary judgment. For the reasons that follow, we ’dismiss Campion’s appeal as moot.

Campion brought a class action against Old Republic, alleging several causes of action, including breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, violations of the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, and violations of the California Unfair Competition Law. In essence, Campion alleges that Old Republic, a company that sells home warranty plans, arbitrarily denied claims made by him and a putative class of similarly situated policyholders of Old Republic plans, or otherwise cheated him and this class out of benefits owed under their policies.

Following the filing of this action and several years of motion practice, the district court denied Campion’s motion to certify a class of Old Republic policyholders and later granted Old Republic’s motion for partial summary judgment on Cam-pion’s claims under…

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

DOUGLAS J. CAMPION, on behalf of No. 12-56784 himself and all others similarly situated, D.C. No. Plaintiff-Appellant, 3:09-cv-00748-

JMA-NLS

v.

OLD REPUBLIC PROTECTION OPINION

COMPANY, INC., a California corporation, Defendant-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California Jan M. Adler, Magistrate Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted October 10, 2014—Pasadena, California

Filed December 31, 2014

Before: Andrew J. Kleinfeld, Susan P. Graber, and John B. Owens, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam Opinion; Dissent by Judge Owens SUMMARY*

Mootness / Class Certification

The panel dismissed, as moot, Douglas Campion’s appeal from the district court’s order denying his motions for class certification and leave to amend the judgment, and granting Old Republic Protection Company, Inc.’s motion for partial summary judgment in a diversity insurance coverage action.

After the district court granted partial summary judgment in Old Republic’s favor, Campion and Old Republic reached…