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

Filing 339

SUPPLEMENTAL ORDER REGARDING NOTICE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF JUDGMENT. Signed by Judge Alsup on December 2, 2009. (whalc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/2/2009)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND, a District of Columbia non-profit corporation, SCARLETT MILES, MARVELENA QUESADA, ARLENE DOHERTY, ALICE MARJORIE DONOVAN, BILLIE JEAN KEITH, GEORGE P. SMITH, MARY ANN ALEXANDER, and LAURA M. RUSSELL on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, v. Plaintiffs, No. C 05-04696 WHA IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

United States District Court

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For the Northern District of California

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SUPPLEMENTAL ORDER REGARDING NOTICE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF JUDGMENT

MICHAEL ASTRUE, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, in his official capacity, and SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Defendants. /

This supplemental order is directed to an ongoing concern of all parties to this action: the potential for unscrupulous fraudsters to prey upon unsuspecting class members by taking advantage of the communication methods ­ both existing and newly ordered ­ used by the Social Security Administration to extract sensitive information, such as social security numbers and credit card information, from the blind and visually impaired. The undersigned, and certainly the parties to this action, want to ensure that this potential for fraud is minimized as much as possible. Therefore, in any notices provided to class members pursuant to defendants' implementation plan, care should be taken to inform recipients that the Social Security

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Administration will never ask them to disclose private information of the nature described above over the Internet or via email communications. Indeed, the notice should clearly explain the limited circumstances where the Social Security Administration would ever ask class members for such information, if any such circumstances exist. Counsel shall meet and confer over the most appropriate language to communicate this information clearly to class members, and file a copy of the revised notice with the Court by FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, AT NOON.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

United States District Court

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For the Northern District of California

Dated: December 2, 2009.

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WILLIAM ALSUP UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE