In a nationally certified class action alleging defective organic roofing shingles, the plaintiff moved to amend the certification order to add a subclass of homeowners who had previously settled warranty claims with the defendant manufacturer and signed release forms.
The plaintiff sought certification of common issues regarding the scope of the releases and whether they were unconscionable, along with summary judgment on those issues.
The court held that determining the scope of each release and whether it was unconscionable required highly individualized factual inquiries into negotiations, compensation, homeowner circumstances, and surrounding context.
Because these issues lacked sufficient commonality across the proposed subclass, they could not be certified as common issues under the Class Proceedings Act.
The proposed release subclass and related objector subclass were therefore refused certification.
