Cite as 2015 Ark. 73
affirmative statement of Arkansas law. Of course, even if it were a statement of Arkansas law, it does not help Philip Morris. In the next paragraph of Asbury, we went on to say that to the extent reliance is an element of an ADTPA claim, that issue is secondary to the overall misrepresentation.
In Asbury, the plaintiffs brought a class-action claim against a car dealership, alleging that the dealership violated the ADTPA by charging a $100 document-preparation fee. The circuit court certified the class. On appeal, the dealership argued that individual issues—like how each plaintiff paid for the vehicle—destroyed predominance. We rejected this argument, reasoning that questions concerning the fee and the reason the dealership charged it were “overarching issues [that] can be resolved before the circuit court reaches any individual issues, such as the degree of reliance of each class member on the misrepresentation." Id. at 611, 237 S.W.3d at 469. Moreover, we have said that an individual class plaintiff's reliance on a defendant’s misrepresentation does not destroy predominance:
[A]lthough the fact that lack of reliance and diligence may be arguments raised by the appellants, these challenges will not override the common question relating to the allegation of a scheme perpetrated by the appellants. The overarching issue which must be the starting point in the resolution of this matter relates to the existence of the alleged scheme.
SEECO, Inc. v. Hales, 330 Ark. 402, 414, 954 S.W.2d 234, 241 (1997). Likewise, in this case, overarching issues regarding Philip Morris’s misrepresentations about Lights cigarettes can be resolved before the circuit court decides any individual issues. In short, the
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