Porath v. Logitech Inc.

Filing 104

ORDER DISMISSING CASE. Signed by Judge William Alsup on 11/30/2020. (amd2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/30/2020)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JAMES PORATH,
Plaintiff,

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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v.

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No. 3:18-cv-03091-WHA
No. 3:20-mc-80089-WHA
No. 3:20-cv-03571-WHA

LOGITECH INC.,
Defendant.

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ORDER DISMISSING CASES

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JAMES PORATH,
Plaintiff,

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v.
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OFFICE DEPOT, INC.,
Defendant.

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JAMES PORATH,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

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LOGITECH INC.,

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Defendant.

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In May 2018, a class action complaint was filed against Logitech Inc. by plaintiff James
Porath (Dkt. No. 1). On November 18, 2019, the Court denied class certification on the

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grounds that the proposed class representative, a three-time convicted felon, could not be

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trusted as a fiduciary to lead any class (Dkt. No. 78). The Court allowed plaintiff’s counsel the

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opportunity to seek a new class representative, an opportunity which counsel declined (Dkt.

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No. 82). The Court then instructed plaintiff’s counsel to submit a proposed notice to absent

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class members of the demise of this class action, as well as a plan of distribution of such notice

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(Dkt. No. 83). Counsel’s plan to effectuate notice to the class included service of subpoenas

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on certain third-party retailers in order to obtain email addresses for the putative class members

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(Dkt. No. 84). The Court approved plaintiff’s proposed notice and distribution plan, stating

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that pending further order, the case would be dismissed on April 14, 2020 (Dkt. No. 87).
Subsequently, two third-party retailers that were subpoenaed pursuant to the Court’s order,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Office Depot, Inc. and Amazon.com, Inc., objected to the subpoenas, resulting in the filing of

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two related cases seeking to compel those third-party retailers’ compliance with the Court’s

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order, 3:20-mc-80089-WHA and 3:20-cv-03571-WHA.

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The Court finds that after the passage of so much time, there is no longer any need to

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give the putative class notice of the collapse of this case. Earlier, plaintiff’s counsel was given

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the opportunity to find a new class representative and class counsel advised they would not do

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so. Many months have now passed, and no one has sought to intervene and pick up the fallen

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banner. There is no need to subpoena Office Depot, Inc. and Amazon.com, Inc. in order to

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identify persons who bought the at-issue product who conceivably might be relying on the

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pendency of this action. Therefore, the subpoenas as to Office Depot, Inc. and Amazon.com,

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Inc. are QUASHED. All three related cases are DISMISSED with prejudice as to Mr. Porath and

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without prejudice to the putative class members.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: November 30, 2020

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WILLIAM ALSUP
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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