Section 23 Missouri Merchandising Practices Act

• Library: Consumer Law and Practice 2010

The MMPA (Missouri Merchandising Practices Act), Chapter 407, RSMo, authorizes class actions and sets forth the procedure to be followed, superimposing Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure onto Rule 52.08 and also establishing statutory standards for these actions. Section 407.025.2-.6, RSMo 2000. Notably, the damages of each class member must be proved by independent evidence and not by admissions of the defendant. Section 407.025.2. The existence of a class must be determined at the outset of the litigation and without resolving paramount liability questions to identify class membership. The class must be definite and ascertainable and cannot include a large number of uninjured plaintiffs. State ex rel. Coca-Cola Co. v. Nixon, 249 S.W.3d 855 (Mo. banc 2008) (construing both § 407.025.3 and Rule 52.08). The representative parties and their counsel must fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. Vandyne v. Allied Mortgage Capital Corp., 242 S.W.3d 695 (Mo. banc 2008) (reversing class certification order, referencing Rule 52.08 but not mentioning § 407.025.3); see also Craft v. Philip Morris Cos., 190 S.W.3d 368 (Mo. App. E.D. 2005) (class properly certified as purchasers of "light" cigarettes...