Tuttle et al v. Sky Bell Asset Management LLC et al

Filing 326

ORDER REGARDING CLASS NOTICE re 322 Response ( Non Motion ), filed by Wendy Meg Siegel, The Braun Family Trust, Eric Braun, Edgar W. Tuttle. Signed by Judge Alsup on March 6, 2012. (Attachments: # 1 Class Notice)(whalc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/6/2012)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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EDGAR W. TUTTLE, ERIC BRAUN, and THE
BRAUN FAMILY TRUST by its co-trustee ERIC
BRAUN, on behalf of themselves and all others
similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,

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No. C 10-03588 WHA

ORDER REGARDING
CLASS NOTICE

v.
SKY BELL ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC, et al.,
Defendants.

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The parties have filed a joint plan for dissemination of class notice, a proposed form of

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class notice, and a proposed time table (Dkt. No. 322). These proposals are approved, subject to

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the modifications set forth below.
CLASS LIST.

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1.

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The order dated February 10, 2012, included a list of all known class members for each

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certified class, which was based on plaintiffs’ previous submission of a class list. The parties

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were ordered to vet the class lists and inform the Court of any errors. The parties responded and

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stated the following individuals should not be named as class members, given that they are

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defendants in this action:

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Agile Sky Alliance Fund, LP Class: Gary Marks d/o/t/
10/7/96, Geoff M. Gotsch Management Trust, Night Watch
Partners, LP, and PipeLine Investors, LP.

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Night Watch Partners, LP Class: NTC & Co. FBO Norm
Gotsch, and Sky Bell Asset Management, LLC.

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PipeLine Investors, LP Class: Gary Marks, Geoffrey M.
Gotsch Management Trust dtd 4/3/2006, Night Watch
Partners, LP, and Sky Bell Asset Management, LLC.

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The individuals listed above, shall be removed from the respective class lists. No other

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corrections to the class list were made.

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After the opt-out period has closed, class counsel shall file an updated report on class size
with the finalized class rosters appended.

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2.

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The parties’ joint proposal to designate Gilardi & Co., LLC, as the administrator for

ADMINISTRATOR.

counsel shall bear the full cost of the administrator, subject to possible reimbursement if the class

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For the Northern District of California

printing, dissemination of class notice, and receipt of requests for exclusion is APPROVED. Class

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United States District Court

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prevails.

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3.

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The parties’ proposed class notice will be used subject to the following amendments.

FORM OF CLASS NOTICE.

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First, on the first page of the class notice, the following language, indicated herein in italics, shall

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be added (the added language need not be italicized in the class notice): “If you do nothing, you

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will be bound by the result of the class action litigation which is described in Section 2 below.

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Please read Section 1 below to inform yourself of what this means for you in terms of giving up

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control of any and all claim(s) you may have against defendant.”

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Second, class members shall be made aware that they will be bound by any settlement

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approved by the Court, without necessarily further opportunity to opt-out. As such, the following

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language shall be included in the class notice under Section 6: “Counsel and lead plaintiffs will

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be authorized to settle this case without necessarily further opportunity for class members to opt

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out. In that event, if the settlement is approved by the Court, class members would be bound by

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the settlement.”
Third, the italicized language shall be added to the following sentence on the first page of

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the notice: “This is the first, and possibly only, notice issued to members of the Class in this

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case.”

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A revised version of the class notice is filed concurrently herewith.
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4.

MEANS OF DISSEMINATION.

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All class notices shall be sent as independent mailings via first class United States mail.

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Class notices shall be sent in distinctive envelopes that do not resemble junk mailings. The

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outside of each envelope shall state that it contains an important notice from the United States

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District Court. The return address on the envelopes shall be the address of the administrator but it

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shall indicate that the class notice was sent on behalf of the District Court. For example, the

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return address may read as follows:

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Important Class Action Notice from the Court
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Class Action 10-3588 WHA
[ADMINISTRATOR NAME]
[ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESS]

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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The parties propose to mail the class noticed to the addresses reflected on the records used

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to generate the class list. Previously, plaintiffs indicated that the class list was “derived from

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records produced in discovery in this litigation” (Dkt. No. 288 at 2). Class counsel must use the

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most up-to-date information available to it, in its reasonable exercise of due diligence, to ensure,

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prior to dissemination of the class notices, that the addresses listed are correct. The parties also

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propose that the class notice include a section that brokers and nominees are requested to forward

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the class notice to class members directly or to provide addresses to the administrator for mailing.

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This is acceptable.

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The parties do not state one way or another whether each class member will receive only

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one class notice, regardless of whether the class member is a member of multiple classes. Unless

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otherwise requested by the parties, each class member shall be mailed one class notice, regardless

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of whether the class member is a member of multiple classes.
COST OF DISSEMINATION.

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5.

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Class counsel shall pay all costs associated with disseminating class notice, subject to

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possible reimbursement if the class prevails.

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SCHEDULE.

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The parties may file objections to the tentative class notice by NOON ON MARCH 12, 2012.

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After that time, the class notice and the schedule for dissemination of notice will be finalized. It

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is anticipated that the administrator will mail the class notices on or by MARCH 16, 2012. The

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class members would then have until May 7, 2012, to opt out of the class action. Plaintiffs

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propose that class members be permitted to opt out by sending a letter via mail or an email to the

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administrator. This will be allowed.

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along with any objections to the tentative class notice and filed by the MARCH 12, deadline for
objection.

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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If either party anticipates problems with this schedule, their concerns should be explained

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: March 6, 2012.

WILLIAM ALSUP
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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