Friedman, et al v. CA State Employees, et al

Filing 291

NOTICE TO THE CLASS signed by Judge William B. Shubb on 4/27/10 giving notice of Pltfs' 281 Motion for Award of Attorneys' Fees, Costs and Expenses pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988. (Owen, K)

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Milton L. Chappell, Esq. (pro hac vice) c/o National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc. 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 600 Springfield, Virginia 22160 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Counsel for Service Steven R. Burlingham, Esq. (CBN 88544) GARY, TILL & BURLINGHAM 5330 Madison Avenue, Suite F Sacramento, California 95841 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Attorneys for Plaintiffs and the Class ______________________________________________________________________________ UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

DAVID M. FRIEDMAN et al., On behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. CALIFORNIA STATE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION et al., Defendants.

Case No. CIV-S-00-00101 WBS/DAD CLASS ACTION NOTICE TO THE CLASS OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES, COSTS AND EXPENSES PURSUANT TO 42 U.S.C. § 1988 HEARING DATE: July 19, 2010 TIME: 2:00 p.m. Courtroom of Judge William B. Shubb, Courtroom 5, 14th Floor, Sacramento, CA

TO ALL CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY ("CSU") EMPLOYEES IN BARGAINING UNITS 2 (HEALTH CARE SUPPORT), 5 (OPERATIONS SUPPORT), 7 (CLERICAL/ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT) & 9 (TECHNICAL SUPPORT) WHO WERE NOT MEMBERS OF THE CSEA ("FAIR SHARE FEE PAYERS") AT ANY TIME BETWEEN NOVEMBER 1, 1999 AND MARCH 31, 2000:

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PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that Plaintiffs in the above-captioned case, David M. Friedman, et al., will move the Court for an award of attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses incurred in litigating the case. The motion will be heard on July 19, 2010, at 2:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as possible, in the courtroom of the Honorable William B. Shubb (Courtroom 5, 14th Floor), located at 501 "I" Street, Sacramento, California 95814. Plaintiffs filed this class action complaint alleging, among other things, that effective January 1, 2000, CSEA1 would improperly withhold a portion of union dues from their paychecks without providing them with the procedural safeguards mandated by Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson, 475 U.S. 292 (1986). On March 15, 2000, the Court ordered that the case proceed as a class action under the provisions of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 on behalf of the class defined in the rectangle on page one. On February 24, 2010, the Court granted judgment for plaintiffs that the "Notices to Fair Share Fee Payers" that CSEA sent to Plaintiffs and members of the class prior to April 2000 did not meet all of the requirements of Hudson. Thus, final judgment was entered in favor of Plaintiffs and against Defendant CSEA on Counts 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 of the Complaint. Final judgment was also entered in favor of Defendants and against Plaintiffs on Counts 1 and 2 of the Complaint. Counts 6, 9 and 10 were dismissed as moot. In accordance with established law, the Court awarded Plaintiffs and each class member nominal damages of $1.00, which is enclosed with this notice. In this type of litigation Federal law allows the plaintiffs, if they prevail on some of their lawsuit, to seek reasonable attorneys' fees from defendants. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(h) requires class members to be notified of the request for attorneys' fees.

The current correct name of the defendant initially sued as "California State Employees Association, Local 1000, Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC" is California State University Employees Union, SEIU Local 2579, California State Employees Association. Throughout this Notice "CSEA" will be used to refer to that defendant. The current State Controller John Chiang has automatically been substituted as the other defendant in this matter in place of his predecessor and original other defendant, Kathleen Connell.

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Plaintiffs' motion requests a total of $45,500.00 in attorneys' fees and costs to counsel for Plaintiffs and the class. This amount was computed by multiplying the hourly rates of Class Counsel by the number of hours they reasonably devoted to the successful portions of the litigation, and by adding the statutory costs and out-of-pocket litigation expenses they incurred in the successful part of the litigation. This amount is sought only from Defendant CSEA. It is not sought from the State, nor from any of the class members or out of their nominal damages. Based upon a settlement between the parties, CSEA does not object to the request for $45,500.00 in attorneys' fees and costs as requested in the motion. More information regarding Plaintiffs' motion and the litigation is contained in the motion and related documents which have been filed with the Court. A copy of these documents can be obtained by writing to Class Counsel at the address provided at the top of page one. Do NOT contact the Court, counsel for Defendants, or Defendants for these documents. For a more complete description of the matters involved in this litigation, you are referred to the papers on file in Friedman v. Connell, Case No. Civ. S-00-0101 WBS DAD (E.D. Cal.), which may be inspected during regular business hours at the office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, United States Courthouse, 501 "I" Street, Suite 4-401, Sacramento, CA 95814. The Court's website is www.caed.uscourts.gov. You do not need to take any action in response to this notice. However, you do have the right to object to the motion for attorneys' fees. Any class member wishing to object to this motion must send a signed letter to Class Counsel, stating that you wish to object to the motion for attorneys' fees and costs in Friedman v. Connell. You must include your name, address, and the reason(s) for your objection. If you also wish to appear and speak at the Court hearing on the motion, you must state that in your objection letter, as well. Any such objection letter must be received no later than July 2, 2010, and must be sent to the following address: Milton L. Chappell, Class Counsel, c/o National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc., 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 600, Springfield, Virginia 22160; or you may email it to [e-mail]. Class Counsel will file your objection letter with the Court and send a copy to CSEA's counsel. Any objection you have to the fee motion will be waived unless you raise it by the time and in

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the manner stated in this paragraph. It is the responsibility of the objector to make sure that the objection letter is received on or before July 2, 2010. As noted above, the Court will hold a hearing on the attorneys' fee motion on Monday, July 19, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. You do not need to appear at the hearing, but you are welcome to come at your own expense. The Court will decide whether Plaintiffs' are entitled to an award of reasonable attorneys fees as well as the amount which was reasonably incurred in prosecuting this civil action.

BY ORDER OF THE COURT:

DATED: April 27, 2010

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Prepared jointly by the parties.

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