Supreme Court of North Carolina April 11, 2014, No. 390PA11-2 (Beroth Oil Co. v. North Carolina Department of Transportation)

lead-opinion

JACKSON, Justice.

In this appeal we consider whether the Court of Appeals erred by affirming the trial court’s order denying plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. We hold that analyzing the substantive merits of plaintiffs’ inverse condemnation claim is improper at the class certification stage and therefore, the trial court and the Court of Appeals erred in doing so.