Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital, Inc. v. Yelp! Inc.

Filing 94

Statement re 86 Supplemental MOTION to Appoint Lead Plaintiff and Lead Counsel and Proposed Six-Month Discovery Plan OF WITHDRAWAL OF MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF BECK & LEE AS INTERIM CLASS COUNSEL by Beck & Lee Business Trial Lawyers. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Exhibit 4)(Beck, Jared) (Filed on 8/18/2010)

Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital, Inc. v. Yelp! Inc.

Doc. 94 Att.

Exhibit 2

Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital, Inc. et al. v. Yelp! Inc., Case No. 3:10CV02351 MHP EXH. ISO STATEMENT OF WITHDRAWAL OF MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF BECK & LEE AS INTERIM CLASS COUNSEL

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BECK & LEE BUSINESS TRIAL LAWYERS JARED H. BECK (233743) ELIZABETH LEE BECK (233742) Courthouse Plaza Building 28 West Flagler Street, Suite 555 Miami, FL 33130 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 786 664 3334 [e-mail] [e-mail] Counsel for Plaintiffs and the Proposed Classes UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA EVANGELINE RED, JENNIFER RED, and RACHEL WHITT, on Behalf of Themselves and All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs, v. UNILEVER PLC and UNILEVER UNITED STATES, INC., Defendants. Case No: 3:10-cv-00387 JW (HRLx) Pleading Type: Class Action DECLARATION OF ELIZABETH LEE BECK IN SUPPORT OF BECK & LEE BUSINESS TRIAL LAWYERS' OPPOSITION TO NOTICE OF TERMINATION OF BECK & LEE BY PLAINTIFFS EVANGELINE RED, JENNIFER RED, AND RACHEL WHITT AND [PROPOSED] ORDER Judge: The Honorable James Ware

Red et al. v. Unilever PLC et al., Case No. 3:10-cv-00387 JW DECLARATION OF ELIZABETH LEE BECK

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I, Elizabeth Lee Beck, declare: 1. My name is Elizabeth Lee Beck. I am over 18 years of age, I have personal

knowledge of the facts set forth in this Declaration, and, if called on to do so, could and would testify competently thereto. 2. I am a member in good standing of the State Bars of California and Florida, and

admitted to practice before this Court. I make this declaration in support of Beck & Lee Business Trial Lawyers' Opposition to Notice of Termination of Beck & Lee by Plaintiff And [Proposed] Order. 3. I am an attorney at the law firm of Beck & Lee Business Trial Lawyers ("Beck &

Lee") with my husband and law partner, Jared H. Beck ("Mr. Beck"). 4. I have known Gregory Weston ("Mr. Weston") since 2003, when I was

introduced to him by Mr. Beck. 5. In 2009, Mr. Weston approached Mr. Beck and proposed that The Weston Firm

and Beck & Lee cooperate in investigating and possibly jointly prosecuting a proposed class action against Unilever PLC based on its food-labeling practices. 6. Beck & Lee and The Weston Firm began to cooperate in investigating and jointly

prosecuting a number of consumer class actions. In February 2010, Beck & Lee, The Weston Firm, and a third firm, Reese Richman LLP, entered into a Joint Prosecution Agreement ("February JPA") covering the firms' joint prosecution of three consumer class actions. 7. On March 2010, The Weston Firm and Beck & Lee signed a Joint Prosecution

Agreement ("March JPA") formalizing the firms' cooperation with respect to their joint prosecution of eight consumer class actions. Mr. Weston extensively negotiated the terms of this agreement with me. The Weston Firm and Beck & Lee subsequently signed addenda to the March JPA in May, June, and July 2010. Beck & Lee was invoiced by The Weston Firm for The Weston Firm's share of costs incurred in litigating the consumer class actions, including filing and service fees, which Beck & Lee paid pursuant to the written agreements between the two firms. 8. On July 29, 2010, I watched and assisted Mr. Beck in presenting oral argument at

the hearing on a motion to dismiss in another of The Weston Firm and Beck & Lee's joint cases, 1
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Peviani v. Hostess Brands Inc., Case No. CV 10-2303-CBM (VBKx), before the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall in the Central District of California. After the hearing, which ended at approximately 10 a.m., The Weston Firm's receptionist and paralegal, Roz Sutton ("Ms. Sutton"), met Mr. Beck and me at the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles to give us a ride back to our hotel. I understand that Ms. Sutton is a recent college graduate residing in San Diego. 9. During the ride, I conversed with Ms. Sutton about her experiences as a paralegal

at The Weston Firm. Ms. Sutton described her compensation structure at The Weston Firm, which comprised of an hourly wage that Ms. Sutton stated to be "low." Ms. Sutton further stated that she was entitled to compensation that the low hourly wage did not reflect. For example, she was due a "bonus" for bringing in June Higginbotham ("Ms. Higginbotham"), her college roommate, to The Weston Firm as a class representative. Ms. Sutton further stated to me that Ms. Higginbotham was also due a fee. I asked Ms. Sutton if this fee due Ms. Higginbotham was an incentive award that courts may award class representatives upon the conclusion of a class action, and Ms. Sutton responded that the fee was NOT the incentive award, but a separate payment promised by Mr. Weston to Ms. Higginbotham for agreeing to be a class representative. Ms. Sutton stated that Ms. Higginbotham's fee for agreeing to be a plaintiff would be bigger than Ms. Sutton's for finding her, and that furthermore, Ms. Higginbotham was promised this fee by Mr. Weston "based on a handshake." Ms. Sutton further stated that the non-attorney employees of The Weston Firm stand to gain additional bonuses on cases upon which they bill hours that ultimately are successfully resolved, and that such bonuses are a percentage of the settlement proceeds. She could not recall the exact percentage, but stated that it was in the employment agreement that she signed with The Weston Firm. This was the first time I received any indication that The Weston Firm had engaged in or was engaging in practices of such a nature. 10. After Ms. Sutton dropped us off at the hotel, I had a lengthy discussion with Mr.

Beck about how to handle the issue. We concluded that it was our obligation to independently investigate: (1) the truth of Ms. Sutton's comments; and (2) if they were true, the extent to which the plaintiffs who originally retained The Weston Firm in the jointly prosecuted cases were

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involved. We agreed to start the investigation by obtaining the contact information for the named plaintiffs originally retaining The Weston Firm, and then speaking with them directly. 11. The next day, on Friday, July 30, 2010, I directed Alejandro Gutiérrez ("Mr.

Gutiérrez"), a paralegal at Beck & Lee, to go through our case files and create a list of all plaintiffs in the cases being jointly litigated by Beck & Lee and The Weston Firm who originally retained The Weston Firm, and draft an e-mail to send to Ms. Sutton requesting the plaintiffs' phone numbers, mailing addresses, and e-mail addresses. Mr. Gutiérrez did so, and placed his drafts in my inbox for review the same day. 12. The following Sunday, August 1, Mr. Beck and I left for Clearwater, Florida for a

series of depositions in another case, and I did not return to the office until late that Friday, August 6. 13. On the next business day, Monday, August 9, I directed Mr. Gutiérrez to contact

Ms. Sutton for the contact information for Rebecca Yumul, one of the named plaintiffs in the cases being jointly prosecuted by Beck & Lee and The Weston Firm. Mr. Gutiérrez sent Ms. Sutton an e-mail requesting this information. I also investigated the whereabouts of one of Weston's former employees, Evan Lee, in preparation to contact him regarding Weston's practices. 14. 15. Ms. Sutton did not respond to the e-mail. Three days later, on August 12, 2010 at 11:37 p.m., I received an e-mail from Mr.

Weston attaching twelve letters purporting to terminate Beck & Lee as counsel for plaintiffs in all our jointly prosecuted cases. Other than the 12 form "termination" letters signed and sent by Weston, none of the plaintiffs have contacted Beck & Lee to express dissatisfaction with the representation or to seek termination of the attorney-client relationship. I immediately called Mr. Weston's cell phone, with no answer. I have never offered anything of value to any plaintiff in exchange for his or her participation in a class action lawsuit. 16. The next morning, on August 13, upon my return to the office, I e-mailed Mr.

Gutiérrez, directing him to contact Ms. Sutton repeatedly for Ms. Yumul's and the other plaintiffs' contact information, and emphasized the importance of reaching her. Mr. Gutiérrez called The Weston Firm, but no one answered. 3
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DATED: August 18, 2010 Respectfully Submitted, s/Elizabeth Lee Beck Elizabeth Lee Beck BECK & LEE BUSINESS TRIAL LAWYERS JARED H. BECK ELIZABETH LEE BECK 28 West Flagler Street, Suite 555 Miami, FL 33130 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: 786 664 3334 Counsel for Plaintiffs and the Proposed Class

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