Freeman et al v. Wilshire Commercial Capital L.L.C.
Filing
99
ORDER signed by Senior Judge William B. Shubb on 3/6/18, ORDERING that the court will stay class discovery until the Supreme Court issues an opinion. A Status Conference is SET for 8/6/2018 at 01:30 PM in Courtroom 5 (WBS) before Senior Judge William B. Shubb. (Kastilahn, A)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11
12
13
VERINA FREEMAN and VALECEA
DIGGS, individually and on
behalf of all others
similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
14
15
16
17
18
CIV. NO. 2:15-1428 WBS AC
ORDER RE: MOTION TO STAY
v.
WILSHIRE COMMERCIAL CAPITAL
L.L.C., a California limited
liability company, dba
WILSHIRE CONSUMER CREDIT,
Defendant.
19
20
Verina Freeman (“Freeman”) and Velecea Diggs (“Diggs”)
21
(collectively “plaintiffs”) initiated this class action against
22
defendant Wilshire Commercial Capital, L.L.C. (“WCC”) alleging
23
violations of the Telephonic Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), 47
24
U.S.C. § 227.
25
Joint Status Report (Docket No. 93) in which defendant requests
26
that in the event the court denies defendant’s Motion to Deny
27
Class Certification, the court stay class discovery pending
28
Supreme Court review of Resh v. China Agritech, Inc. (9th Cir.
On February 14, 2018, the parties submitted a
1
1
2017) 857 F.3d 994, cert. granted, 138 S. Ct. 543 (2017).
2
Court is scheduled to hear Resh on March 28, 2018, and it is
3
expected to issue a ruling on the case by the end of June.
4
The
In Resh, the Ninth Circuit concluded that the filing of
5
a class action tolls the limitations period and permits a
6
previously absent class member to bring a subsequent class action
7
outside of the generally applicable limitations period.
8
Supreme Court has previously ruled that the filing of a class
9
action suit tolls the running of the statute of limitations for a
The
10
purported member’s individual claims.
11
v. Utah, 414 U.S. 538 (1974).
12
regarding the interpretation of the American Pipe rule as it
13
relates to tolling for subsequent putative class actions.
14
courts of appeal, including the Ninth Circuit, have interpreted
15
the rule to mean that the limitations period is tolled not only
16
as to individual claims but also as to future class action
17
claims, while six other courts of appeal have found tolling only
18
permits subsequent individual actions.
19
See Am. Pipe & Constr. Co.
However, there is a circuit split
Three
If the Court reverses Resh and determines that the
20
statute of limitations is tolled only for individual claims, then
21
plaintiffs would be unable to bring this case as a class action,
22
though they would still be able to proceed with their individual
23
claims.
24
completely eliminated depending on the Supreme Court’s ruling in
25
Resh.
26
Supreme Court issues an opinion.
27
August 6, 2018, at 1:30 pm in Courtroom No. 5.
28
Accordingly, the need to do class discovery may be
Therefore, the court will stay class discovery until the
A status conference is set for
IT IS SO ORDERED.
2
1
Dated:
March 6, 2018
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
3
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?