Dancel v. Groupon, Inc.

Dist. Ct. did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff’s motion to certify class action in plaintiff’s lawsuit alleging that defendant violated Illinois Right of Publicity Act (IRPA) by including without her permission her username on her Instagram account in third-party business’s web page located on defendant’s website. While plaintiff identified as common question whether individual's Instagram username categorically fell within IRPA’s definition of “identity,” Dist. Ct. could properly deny instant class certification request because IRPA, as applied to instant case, required Dist. Ct. to undergo username-by-username inquiry, such that common questions would not predominate over individual questions. Moreover, IRPA required comparative exercise that depended on both specific individual and specific appropriated attribute in question, which could not be solved categorically. As such, plaintiff could not develop for each class member common prima facie case under identity element of instant IRPA claim, and whether any username served to identify any individual required individual proof beyond category into which attribute fell.