Zulewski et al v. The Hershey Company

Filing 216

ORDER SCHEDULING CASE MANAGEMENT; PENDING DISCOVERY DISPUTE re 215 Joint Discovery Letter Brief filed by Plaintiffs and The Hershey Company. Case Management Conference set for 11/20/2012 01:30 PM in Courtroom 4, 3rd Floor, Oakland.. Signed by Judge Kandis A. Westmore on 10/10/2012. (kawlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/10/2012)

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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RYAN ZULEWSKI, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No.: CV 11-05117 KAW
ORDER SCHEDULING CASE
MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE;
PENDING DISCOVERY DISPUTE

THE HERSHEY COMPANY,
Defendant.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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The parties filed their Joint Status Report on August 15, 2012. Dkt. No. 211. On

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September 18, 2012, the parties filed a Joint Discovery Letter outlining their unresolved discovery

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disputes. Dkt. No. 215.

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The Court recognizes that this action would benefit from 1) a determination as to which

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plaintiffs have properly opted-in to the action; and 2) a determination as to the proper measure of

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FLSA overtime damages. The Court also recognizes that it is the stated intent of the parties to

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have this action be the last such case filed against Defendant Hershey concerning the alleged

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misclassification of RSRs, who have since been reclassified as non-exempt employees.

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To address these issues, the Court will hold a Case Management Conference on Tuesday,

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November 20, 2012 at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 4, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612. In the

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interest of judicial efficiency, the parties should also be prepared to discuss the Joint Status

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Report and the discovery process generally in light of Campanelli.

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Therefore, in addition to filing a joint case management conference (CMC) statement
pursuant to the Local Rules, IT IS ORDERED:
1. The parties shall include in their CMC statement the names of the "opt-in" plaintiffs
that are in dispute and the nature of the disagreement.
2. On or before October 17, 2012, Plaintiffs' counsel shall file a declaration listing all
individuals who postmarked their opt-in forms after the July 13, 2012 deadline.

3. On or before October 24, 2012, all individuals who filed late opt-in forms shall submit

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an affidavit showing good cause as to why their forms were not postmarked by the deadline.

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Failure to submit a timely affidavit may result in an individual plaintiff's exclusion from this

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action.

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4. As the opt-in forms were not docketed in such a way that the Court can match a

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specific plaintiff to their opt-in form from the docket text, Plaintiffs shall provide the Court with a

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searchable list or chart (in either Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Word) that matches each opt-in

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plaintiff with the corresponding docket number of his/her opt-in form, as well as a column that

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lists which notice group(s) he/she was included in. Plaintiffs shall electronically serve a copy of
this document on the docket and also email the searchable Word/Excel version to the Court at

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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[e-mail] by October 31, 2012.
5. The issue of the proper measure of FLSA damages and the names of the plaintiffs

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properly opted-in will be discussed at the CMC.
6. Since private mediation proved unsuccessful, any stays in discovery are lifted, and the

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parties are ordered to substantively meet and confer to narrow the disputes articulated in the

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9/18/2012 Joint Discovery Letter, and discuss how they wish to proceed. Should any disputes

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remain after meeting and conferring pursuant to the Court's Standing Order, the parties are

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ordered to submit another joint letter consistent with the Standing Order, such that each individual

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dispute is clearly identified and each party's final, substantive position is articulated. The

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9/18/2012 letter failed to comply with the Standing Order, as it more closely resembled moving

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papers rather than the joint letter described in the Order. The parties are urged to resolve as many

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disputes as possible without the need for court intervention. To the extent that responses to

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discovery have not been produced because of a misunderstanding regarding the stay, they should

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now be produced no later than thirty (30) days from the date of this order. Should the parties

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wish to discuss any remaining discovery disputes at the CMC, a new joint letter should be filed by

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October 31, 2012. Any outstanding discovery issues will be addressed at the CMC.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: October 10, 2012

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KANDIS A. WESTMORE
United States Magistrate Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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