Anderson

ORDER REGARDING EFFECT ON CLASS MEMBERS OF COURT’S ORDER IMPOSING SANCTIONS ON ESTATE OF HOWARD R. HUGHES

On July 2, 1976, the court orally granted the motions of plaintiffs in Anderson, Beecher, and Silverstein for sanctions against the estate of Howard R. Hughes based on Hughes’ failure to appear for his deposition. At that hearing defendants contended that only the named plaintiffs in these actions and not the unnamed members of the classes certified on July 1, 1976, could be the beneficiaries of any order imposing sanctions. Because this issue had not been briefed by the parties, the court set up a briefing schedule and set that issue down for hearing on August 13,1976. Having considered the briefs submitted by the parties and having heard oral argument on the matter, the court now sets forth its ruling.

The issue before the court is whether an order imposing the sanction of default for a failure to provide discovery inures to the benefit of the unnamed members of the class when that failure to provide discovery occurs before the class has been certified and when the order imposing sanctions is entered after the class has been certified but before notice to the class has…