Frlekin et al v. Apple Inc.

Filing 306

ORDER MODIFYING JOINT DISSEMINATION PLAN Updated Joint Plan due by 8/10/2015 at Noon.. Signed by Judge Alsup on 8/3/15. (whalc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/3/2015)

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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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AMANDA FRLEKIN, TAYLOR KALIN,
AARON GREGOROFF, SETH
DOWLING, and DEBRA SPEICHER, on
behalf of themselves and all others
similarly situated,

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No. C 13-03451 WHA (lead)
No. C 13-03775 WHA (consolidated)
No. C 13-04727 WHA (consolidated)

Plaintiffs,
v.

ORDER MODIFYING JOINT
DISSEMINATION PLAN

APPLE INC., a California corporation,
Defendant.
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In this wage-and-hour class action, the parties have submitted a joint plan for the

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dissemination of class notification (Dkt. No. 305). The parties raised three disputes relating to

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the plan. This order resolves those disputes and requires edits to certain additional sections of

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the proposed class notice. The parties shall modify the joint plan as described below and submit

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an updated plan by AUGUST 10, AT NOON.

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DISPUTE 1: REGARDING “VOLUNTARY” LANGUAGE

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Plaintiffs object to several descriptions of the “least common denominator” theory

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according to which class-wide litigation will proceed. In particular, plaintiffs object to language

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that describes the class-wide litigation as limited to the theory that all class members

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“voluntarily chose to bring bags and/or Apple technology to work purely for personal

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convenience.” That language accurately reflects this Court’s order certifying the class.
Accordingly, the language in the class notice and summary shall remain as-is.

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DISPUTE 2: REGARDING DISCOVERY OBLIGATIONS

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Plaintiffs object to certain language describing potential class members’ future discovery

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obligations. The proposed provision reads, “Additionally, if you do nothing, you may be called

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to testify in the lawsuit and your compensation records and other employment records may be

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disclosed to Class Counsel.” The language shall be modified to read, “Additionally, if you do

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nothing (and thus remain a member of the class), you may be called to give evidence.”

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Additionally, the subsections under the heading “The Consequences of Doing Nothing” should

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be re-numbered to reflect the inclusion of this provision.

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DISPUTE 3: REGARDING WORK E-MAIL ADDRESSES
Apple objects to the provision in the proposed plan which requires it to provide the work

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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e-mail addresses of all current employees to class counsel in addition to the third party notice

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administrator. By virtue of the appointment of class counsel, those employees that do not opt out

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of the class will be class counsel’s clients. Accordingly, Apple shall provide those e-mail

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addresses to class counsel as well as the third party notice administrator.

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MODIFICATION TO DESCRIPTION OF INTERVENTION

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The proposed descriptions of intervention do not adequately convey the consequences of

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intervention. In particular, it is not clear that intervenors will remain members of the class and

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may still benefit from class-wide settlement. Accordingly, the following alterations are

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necessary.

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On page 2 of the proposed notice, the paragraph labeled 2, the text that reads “Ask the

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Court to allow you to join the action to assert an individual claim that you were required . . . ”

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shall be altered to read “Ask the Court to allow you to join the action to assert an individual

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claim — while maintaining your status as a member of the class — that you were required . . . ”

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On page 4 of the proposed notice, between the sentence ending with “intervening” and

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the sentence beginning with “If you wish to join . . . ” the following shall be added: “If you

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choose to intervene and assert your own individual claim, you will remain a member of the

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class.”

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On page 5 of the proposed notice, the sentence that reads, “You will be bound by the

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outcome of your individual claim” shall be replaced with the following: “If you choose to

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intervene and assert your own individual claim, you will remain a member of the class. If a

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settlement is reached with Apple on behalf of the class, you may have the right to receive

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compensation from Apple. If, however, the action proceeds to trial, you will be bound by the

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outcome of your individual claim.”

individual claim if you contend you were required, for any reason, to bring a bag or personal

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Apple technology to work” shall be edited to read “join the Action to assert an individual claim

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(although you will also remain a member of the class) if you contend you were required, for any

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For the Northern District of California

On page 1 of the Summary of Notice, the text that reads “join the Action to assert an

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United States District Court

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reason, to bring a bag or personal Apple technology to work.”

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MODIFICATIONS REGARDING THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN “SPECIAL NEEDS”
AND “LEAST COMMON DENOMINATOR”

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The description of the “special needs” theory on page 3 of the proposed class notice is
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confusing and inaccurate. That paragraph shall be replaced with the following:
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Plaintiffs will NOT assert that Apple must compensate Apple
Employees for Checks when Apple Employees were required to
bring bags and/or personal Apple due to any “special needs,” such
as the need to carry prescription medication, feminine hygiene
products. The class will litigate this case EXCLUSIVELY on the
theory that class members voluntarily chose to bring bags and/or
personal Apple technology to work purely for personal
convenience.

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On page 3 of the notice, the sentence that reads, “As required by the Order, Plaintiffs’

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theory at trial will be that . . . ” shall be edited to read, “Plaintiffs will litigate this case on the

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theory that . . . ”

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CORRECTIONS OF TYPOGRAPHICAL AND FORMATTING ERRORS

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The parties should review the proposed notice and summary for typographical and

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formatting errors. On page 1 of the proposed notice, there is a quotation mark missing after the

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word Order. On page 2 of the proposed notice, there is a quotation mark missing after the word

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Complaint. On page 4 of the proposed notice, the heading “The Consequences of Intervening in

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the Action” should be reformatted so that it appears on the same page as the text that follows it.
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Page 5 of the proposed notice includes two sentences missing spaces between them such that it

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reads “Action.Also.” Throughout the proposed notice, the headings contained within boxes are

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inconsistently formatted. Some are shaded, some have an extra line, and some have punctuation.

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Please select one format for those headings and use it consistently.

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SCHEDULE FOR DISSEMINATION OF NOTICE
The Court would prefer for the dissemination of notice to occur at least a week earlier

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than proposed, but if an earlier schedule is infeasible, the Court will reluctantly approve the

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proposed schedule for the dissemination of notice.

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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CONCLUSION
The parties shall submit an amended joint plan that reflects the modifications discussed
above by AUGUST 10, AT NOON.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: August 3, 2015.

WILLIAM ALSUP
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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