American Council of the Blind et al v. Barnhart et al

Filing 132

STIPULATION AND ORDER RE NOTICE OF CLASS DEFINITION. Signed by Judge Alsup on October 3, 2008. (whalc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/3/2008)

1 PETER J. CROSBY (Bar No. 115588) 2 JACOB N. FOSTER (Bar No. 250785) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

WONDIE RUSSELL (Bar No. 77990) ADIL HAQ (Bar No. 255435) HELLER EHRMAN LLP 333 Bush Street San Francisco, CA 94104 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: +1.415.772.6268 [e-mail]

ARLENE B. MAYERSON (Bar No. 79310) LARISA M. CUMMINGS (Bar No. 131076) SILVIA YEE (Bar No. 222737) DISABILITY RIGHTS EDUCATION AND DEFENSE FUND, INC. 2212 Sixth Street Berkeley, CA 94710 Telephone: +1.510.644-2555 Facsimile: +1.510.841.8645 [e-mail]

14 Attorneys for Plaintiffs 15 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND, a District of Columbia non-profit corporation, TAMMY RENEE COOPER, SCARLETT MILES, MARVELENA QUESADA, ARLENE DOHERTY, ALICE MARJORIE DONOVAN, BILLIE JEAN KEITH, GEORGE P. SMITH, DOROTHY JACKSON, MARY ANN ALEXANDER, AND LAURA M. RUSSELL on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Security Administration, in his official capacity, Case No.: C 05-04696 WHA

STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE NOTICE OF CLASS CERTIFICATION

27 MICHAEL ASTRUE, Commissioner of the Social 28 and SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION,

Defendants.

STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE NOTICE OF CLASS CERTIFICATION CASE NO. C 05-04696 WHA

1 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

STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE NOTICE OF CLASS CERTIFICATION Pursuant to the Court's class certification order dated September 11, 2008, the parties stipulate as follows: 1. In furtherance of this Court's Order that notice of class certification be distributed in order to encourage the maximum input possible from class members regarding issues of potential relief, the proposed notice agreed to by the parties is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 2. Distribution of Notice and Alternate Formats: In order to ensure the widest distribution of class notice possible, the parties will take the following actions within 45 days of the Court's approval of the notice and distribution plan: a. Plaintiffs will post the notice on all of co-counsel's websites: http://www.hewm.com/en/about/offices_san_francisco.aspx, www.dredf.org, http://www.nsclc.org/, http://www.oradvocacy.org/; and on the national and state websites of organizational plaintiff American Council of the Blind (ACB), http://www.acb.org/. Plaintiffs will also include the notice in ACB's newsletter, The Braille Forum, which is available monthly in Braille, audiocassette, large print and email. b. Plaintiffs will establish a toll-free 800 number where class members can request the class certification notice be provided by Plaintiffs in Braille, large font print, audio recording or accessible CD and leave their contact information, as well as comments and questions about the lawsuit. c. Plaintiffs will coordinate with government agencies, community advocates in the disability community, the senior community, and the blind and visually impaired community, as well as legal aid and SSA advocacy organizations, across the country to ensure

-1STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE NOTICE OF CLASS CERTIFICATION CASE NO. C 05-04696 WHA

1 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

distribution of the notice via internal and public newsletters, electronic listservs, and posting of the notice on organizational websites as appropriate. Plaintiffs' outreach will encompass the following groups (a contact list for the organizations below is attached hereto as Exhibit B): · The National Federation of the Blind and the American Foundation for the Blind; · U.S. Administration on Aging funded legal service providers, · State agencies, commission, and schools concerning the blind community; · State agencies concerning seniors and aging; · National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (N4A); · Legal Services Corporation; · National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA); · National Disability Rights · AARP; · National Council on Independent Living (NCIL); · Braille Institute of America; · Guide Dogs of America. d. Defendants will record the complete notice in English and Spanish on telephone messages that will be made available through a dedicated 1-800 toll-free telephone line. e. f. g. Defendants will post links to the notice on both the English and Spanish versions of the homepage of its website. Defendants will display the notice in a 22 font print poster in the main area of all SSA field offices. Defendants will instruct its employees by means of an emergency message (EM) of the class action notice and will instruct
-2STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE NOTICE OF CLASS CERTIFICATION CASE NO. C 05-04696 WHA

1 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

employees to respond to all inquiries concerning the class action by informing members of Plaintiff's 1-800 number, or, upon request, by reading aloud the notice. Defendant will also instruct its employees to direct individuals to follow the information in the notice regarding their ability to contact Plaintiffs' class counsel if they wish to provide input to the court, or have any questions or concerns about the notice or the lawsuit. h. Defendants will send out the notice and links to the English and Spanish version of the notice on its website to its SSA update newsletter and its "Dear Colleague" subscribers. 3. Duration of Notice Provision: The procedures set forth in Section 2, above, shall remain in place until December 31, 2008 or for 60 days following their implementation, whichever occurs later. IT IS SO STIPULATED. DATED: October 1, 2008 Respectfully submitted HELLER EHRMAN LLP DISABILITY RIGHTS EDUCATION AND DEFENSE FUND, INC. By _/s/ Silvia Yee_____________________ SILVIA YEE Attorneys for Plaintiffs By /s/ Marsha S. Edney______________ MARSHA S. EDNEY Attorneys for Defendants

-3STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE NOTICE OF CLASS CERTIFICATION CASE NO. C 05-04696 WHA

1

Filer's attestation: Pursuant to General Order No. 45, § X(B), I attest under 2 penalty of perjury that concurrence in the filing of the document has been obtained from each of its signatories.
3 4

Dated: October 1, 2008

By /s/ Silvia Yee__________

5 Additional Co-Counsel for Plaintiffs:

10

GERALD A. MCINTYRE (Bar No. 181746) NATIONAL SENIOR CITIZENS LAW CENTER 7 3435 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 2860 Los Angeles, CA 90010 8 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: +1.213.639.0934 [e-mail]
6

11 KATHLEEN L. WILDE (Oregon Bar No. 97105) (Admitted Pro Hac Vice) 12 620 SW Fifth Avenue, Fifth Floor 13 Portland, OR 97204 14 Facsimile: +1.503.243.1738 15 [e-mail] 16 17 18 PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 October 2, 2008. Date: _______________________
UNIT ED
S DISTRICT TE C TA

OREGON ADVOCACY CENTER Telephone: [phone]

RT U O

S

By: ______________________________ lsup illiam A Judge W HONORABLE WILLIAM H. ALSUP ER UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE C
N
F D IS T IC T O R
A

-4STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE NOTICE OF CLASS CERTIFICATION CASE NO. C 05-04696 WHA

LI

FO

R NIA

O ORD IT IS S

ERED

NO

RT

H