Vasquez et al v. Leprino Foods Company et al

Filing 4

ORDER Relating and Reassigning Case, signed by District Judge Anthony W. Ishii on 6/14/17: The Clerk of the Court is directed to relate this action to Finder v. Leprino, Case No. 1:13-cv-02059 AWI BAM. (Hellings, J)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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VICTOR VASQUEZ and LINDA
HEFKE on behalf of all other similarly
situated individuals,

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PlaintiffS,

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CASE NO. 1:17-CV-00796-DAD-SKO
ORDER RELATING AND
REASSIGNING CASE

LEPRINO FOODS COMPANY, a
Colorado Corporation; LEPRINO
FOODS DAIRY PRODUCTS
COMPANY, a Colorado Corporation;
and DOES 1-50, inclusive,
Defendants.
On November 15, 2013, Plaintiff Jerrod Finder (“Finder”) filed a wage and hour class

22 action against Leprino Foods Company and Leprino Foods Dairy Products Company
23 (collectively “Leprino”), alleging California Labor Code violations including failures to provide
24 a second meal break or accurate itemized statements, waiting time violations, Unfair Business
25 Practices Act violations, and Private Attorneys General Act claims based on those substantive
26 violations. On January 21, 2015, Jonathon Talavera (“Talavera”) filed a wage and hour class
27 action against Leprino, alleging, (1) claims relating to Leprino’s donning and doffing procedure
28 for required sanitary gear, (2) the same second meal period denial claim as Finder, and (3) claims
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1 for failure to pay all hours worked, overtime, and wages upon termination (based on both (a) the
2 second meal period and rest period denials, and (b) the donning and doffing related claims). The
3 Court consolidated the two actions on November 21, 2016. Finder v. Leprino, Case No. 1:13-cv4 2059-AWI-BAM, Doc. 63. On January 20, 2017, the Court stayed the consolidated action. Id. at
5 Doc. 81.
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On April 13, 2017, counsel for Talavera filed Perez v. Leprino. Perez v. Leprino, EDCA

7 Case No. 1:17-cv-00686-AWI-BAM, Doc. 1 at 11-32. That action was removed to this Court on
8 May 18, 2017, and assigned to District Judge Dale Drozd. Id. The following day, Leprino filed a
9 notice of related cases. Id. at Doc. 3. This Court related and reassigned that action on May 24,
10 2017.
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On May 8, 2017, counsel for Talavera filed Vasquez v. Leprino. Vasquez v. Leprino,

12 EDCA Case No. 1:17-cv-00796, Doc. 1 at 10-26. That action was removed to this Court on June
13 12, 2017. Doc. 1. The following day, Leprino file a notice of related cases. Doc. 3. The Vasquez
14 action appears to raise some of the same claims for potentially the same class period as the
15 actions involving Leprino presently assigned to this Court. E.g., compare Doc. 1 at 18-22
16 (alleging claims for meal period violations, wage statement violations, and conversion) with
17 Perez v. Leprino, EDCA Case No. 1:17-cv-00686-AWI-BAM, Doc. 10 at 15-16, 18-19, 21-22
18 (same).
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Local Rules provide that when a “Judge to whom the action with the lower or lowest

20 number has been assigned determines that assignment of the actions to a single Judge is likely to
21 effect a savings of judicial effort or other economies, that Judge is authorized to enter an order
22 reassigning all higher numbered related actions to himself or herself.” Local Rule 123(c). The
23 above-entitled action appears to involve similar questions of fact and law as Finder v. Leprino,
24 Talavera v. Leprino, and Perez v. Leprino. Assignment to the same judge is likely to effect a
25 substantial savings of judicial effort. See Local Rule 123(a)(3). Because the undersigned is
26 assigned the lowest numbered related case, the above-entitled case is hereby reassigned from the
27 dockets of District Judge Dale A. Drozd and Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto to the dockets of
28 Senior District Judge Anthony Ishii and Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe. The Clerk of
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1 the Court is also respectfully directed to relate this action to Finder v. Leprino, Case No. 1:132 cv-02059-AWI-BAM.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.

5 Dated: June 14, 2017

SENIOR DISTRICT JUDGE

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