United American Insurance Company Heartland Alliance of America Association and Farm & Ranch Healthcare, Inc. V…

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed an interlocutory order certifying a multistate class alleging that defendants used uniform training and sales practices to misrepresent limited-benefit health policies and bundled products. The court held that common issues concerning the alleged scheme predominated despite individualized sales encounters and potential reliance issues, and that res judicata could not be resolved in an appeal from class certification because it was an affirmative defense previously raised in a denied summary-judgment motion. The court also upheld the class definition and concluded that the circuit court’s findings addressed certification rather than the merits. Justice Wills, joined by Justices Corbin and Danielson, dissented, concluding that the record did not show uniform implementation of the alleged sales scheme in actual customer encounters.