Miller v. Deal

The named plaintiffs did not meet the commonality and typicality requirements for class certification in a suit alleging that they were denied government-funded counsel while facing incarceration in civil child support contempt proceedings, in which the State had legal representation.

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In this lawsuit against the Department of Human Services,1 the trial court certified a class of plaintiffs. The Department appealed, and in Deal v. Miller, 321 Ga. App. 220 739 SE2d 487 2013, the Court of Appeals reversed, concluding that the named plaintiffs failed in several respects to show that class certification was warranted. We issued a writ of certiorari to review that decision, and we now affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals.

1. The named plaintiffs in this lawsuit are indigent parents, all of whom say that they have been incarcerated for failures to pay child support following civil contempt proceedings initiated by the Department and in which the Department was represented by lawyers. The plaintiffs could not afford to hire their own lawyers for these proceedings. Without a lawyer to defend them, the plaintiffs contend, the proceedings in which they were incarcerated failed to comport with the constitutional guarantee of due process. Alleging that the Department routinely initiates such proceedings against indigent parents, but fails to provide lawyers for such parents at the expense of the Department, the plaintiffs sued, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief not only for themselves, but also for a class of all unrepresented and indigent parents who are threatened with incarceration in such proceedings. On the motion of the plaintiffs to certify this class, the trial court found that the plaintiffs had shown each of the four essential prerequisites for class certification under OCGA § 9-11-23 a, as well as the prerequisite for certification under OCGA § 9-11-23 b 2. Based on these findings, the trial court determined that a class action was warranted, and it certified the class.

Miller v. Deal

The named plaintiffs did not meet the commonality and typicality requirements for class certification in a suit alleging that they were denied government-funded counsel while facing incarceration in civil child support contempt proceedings, in which the State had legal representation.

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