Plaintiffs in a Metabolife 356 Case Fail to Establish Predominance, District Court Denies Class Certification

NEW ORLEANS - According to a Jan. 25 decision, the plaintiffs' request for class certification in a Metabolife 356 product liability case has been denied because predominance was not established. Shirley Kemp, et al. v. Metabolife International Inc. and Mike Ellis, No. 00-3513 (D. La.).

The court found that the plaintiffs' arguments regarding common liability sub-issues and the commonality of pleading 'one cause of action based on one product under one state's law against one manufacturer' were not sufficient to establish the predominance of common issues necessary for class certification.

According to the decision, the plaintiffs in this case sued …