Cedar Crest Funeral Home, Inc. v. Lashley

In Cedar Crest Funeral Home, Inc. v. Lashley, 889 S.W.2d 325 (Tex. App.--Dallas 1993, no writ), the court noted that "class and nonclass actions raise discrete problems of standing which the courts have generally failed to distinguish." Id. at 329. In class actions, the court reasoned, "the requirement that the named representative plaintiff have a personal stake in the form of a direct injury is less compelling on jurisdictional grounds . . . because the class itself is the real party in interest." Id. As such: "if the unnamed members of the class satisfy the requirements of standing, then a real controversy exists between the class and the defendant, which should be sufficient to invoke the court's jurisdiction." Id. The court pointed out that "in more traditional representative actions involving fiduciaries, trustees, or 'next friends,' the stake of the person or entity represented determines standing, not the stake of the representative." Id. The court concluded that, "logically, jurisdictional requirements imposed upon class representatives should be no more onerous." Id.