Page:Philip Morris Companies v. Miner.pdf/16

 criteria." The circuit court did not have to go behind the class definition and make a separate finding that the class was readily ascertainable—the class definition speaks for itself.

Moreover, unlike Ferguson, supra, this class definition is straightforward. In Ferguson, class plaintiffs alleged that Kroger’s double-coupon advertising campaign was false and misleading. However, the problem was that the proposed class was defined by reference to five different criteria. We affirmed the circuit court’s refusal to certify the class, finding that the class plaintiffs' "ability to define the class to be all but insurmountable." Ferguson, 343 Ark. at 634, 37 S.W.3d at 594. But here there is only one inquiry: Did a plaintiff ever buy Marlboro Lights during the specified time period? If so, he or she is a member of the class. This is hardly an "insurmountable" question to answer.

Philip Morris asserts that the class is still poorly defined, and unascertainable, because each class member will have to present receipts in order to opt-in to the class; it further contends that plaintiffs cannot provide receipts, and thus will not be able to prove their membership in the class. Plaintiffs respond that consumers can prove their class membership in other ways, for example, by an affidavit or through testimony. We agree with the plaintiffs. There is no receipt requirement in order to join a class action. One of