Owino et al v. CoreCivic, Inc.

Filing 206

ORDER on Proposed Class Notice Plan. Plaintiffs must make the modifications as outlined above in this Order by December 31, 2020 and provide Defendant with any updated material by the same date. Plaintiffs shall have until January 19, 2020 to begin execution of the class notice plan. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nita L. Stormes on 12/18/2020. (tcf)

Case 3:17-cv-01112-JLS-NLS Document 206 Filed 12/18/20 PageID.8871 Page 1 of 7

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SYLVESTER OWINO, JONATHAN
GOMEZ, on behalf of themselves, and all
others similarly situated,

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ORDER ON PROPOSED CLASS
NOTICE PLAN

Plaintiff,
v.
CORECIVIC, INC., a Maryland
corporation,
Defendant.

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Case No.: 3:17-cv-1112-JLS-NLS

AND RELATED CROSS ACTION

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The Court previously issued an Order the Proposed Class Notice plan. ECF No.

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203. As part of that order, the Court ordered Plaintiffs to further supplement their class

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notice plan disclosures. Pursuant to this order, Plaintiffs filed their Notice of Proposed

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Content for Class Notices (ECF No. 204), and Defendant filed its objections (ECF No.

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205). The Court now makes its final rulings on the objections as set forth below in this

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order.

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URL and Website Mockup

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Defendant makes the following objections to the URL and website mockup:

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1.

Defendant objects that the URL “http://www.coreciviclawsuit.com” is too
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expansive and overly prejudicial. This objection is sustained. The URL shall read

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“www.coreciviclaborclassaction.com,” assuming this URL is available. The URL should

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also be blocked and domain deleted once a final judgment is entered in this case.

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2.

Defendant objects that Plaintiffs have not provided any audio or video as

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part of the website content This objection is sustained. The website as launched cannot

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include any audio or video.

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3.

Defendant objects that Plaintiffs have not provided Spanish translations of

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the entire website. This objection is sustained. The website should include a Spanish

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translation of all content, similar to the way it has been implemented for the website

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www.geoadelantoclassaction.com, where users can push a key for a Spanish version of

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the current page they are viewing. The Court does not intend to review any further

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translations. The Court expects Plaintiffs to be accurate in their translations and to

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provide a declaration to that effect.

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4.

Defendant objects again to the illustration of the man shown on the

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homepage as unduly prejudicial. This objection is sustained. The website shall not have

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any image on its home page.

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5.

Defendant objects to the wording of the overlay on the home page which

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states “Were you forced to work against your will or in a Voluntary Work Program in

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California?” This objection is sustained. The text shall instead read “Were you forced

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to work against your will, or did you participate in a Voluntary Work Program in

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California?”

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6.

Defendant objects to FAQ #7, which states that the individual class member

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does not need to attend trial. This objection is sustained. The answer shall be amended

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to include at the end: “However, you may be called as a witness by either party, in which

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case you must attend.”

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7.

Defendant objects to FAQ #9 because it does not identify the name of each

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class and modifying it to would make it consistent with the other class notices. This

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objection is sustained. The text should be modified to the following:
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“(1) NATIONAL FORCED LABOR CLASS: You were detained at any
CoreCivic facility in the United States any time between December 23, 2008 and
the present, AND you were forced or coerced to clean areas of the facility outside
of your personal living area under threat of punishment. You are included even if
you got paid for this work.
(2) CALIFORNIA FORCED LABOR CLASS: You were detained at the
one of these CoreCivic facilities in California:
1. Otay Mesa Detention Center in Otay Mesa, California

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2. San Diego Correctional Facility in Otay Mesa, California

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3. California City Correctional Facility in California City, California

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Any time between January 1, 2006 and the present, AND you were forced or
coerced to clean areas of the facility outside of your personal living area under
threat of punishment. You are included even if you got paid for this work.
(3) CALIFORNIA LABOR LAW CLASS: You were detained at any
CoreCivic facility in California listed above any time between May 31, 2013 and
the present, AND you participated in the Voluntary Work Program.”
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Defendant objects to FAQ #16 because it does not provide a hyperlink to the

Exclusion Request Form. This objection is sustained. This FAQ shall be modified to
include a hyperlink to the form.
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Defendant objects to the inclusion of the Joint Statement Regarding

Proposed Case Management Schedule on the Documents page. This objection is
sustained. This document must be removed and may be replaced with the Scheduling
Order (ECF No. 187). If Plaintiff chooses to include this, it must also update this link
without undue delay when there are schedule modifications in the future.
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Defendant also objects that the Long Form Notice on the Documents Page

does not include a link to the Exclusion Request Form. This objection is sustained. The
Long Form Notice on that page shall include the Exclusion Request Form.
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Finally, Defendant objects that the Exclusion Request Form does not have

its own link as a separate document on the Documents page. This objection is sustained.

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Plaintiffs shall add it as a separate document on this page.

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Interactive Voice Response

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Defendant objects to the introductory paragraph of the script because it only

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mentions Plaintiff’s federal TVPA claim and does not mention the California TVPA and

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labor law claims or Defendant’s position. This objection is sustained. Text in the

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introductory paragraph shall state the following:

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“Welcome to the Owino v. CoreCivic Voice Information System. This
system provides information about the proposed class action lawsuit. This
Action alleges that CoreCivic (formerly called Corrections Corporation of
America) violated Federal and state law by (1) forcing detainees to clean
areas of the facility outside of their personal living area under threat of
punishment, and (2) failing to pay minimum wage, provide wage statements,
and pay earned compensation upon termination, and imposing unlawful
terms and conditions of employment to detainees who were detained in a
California facility and who participated in the Voluntary Work Program.
CoreCivic denies the allegations in the lawsuit and denies that it did
anything wrong.”
Press Release
Defendant objects to the “What is this Lawsuit About” paragraph as not
sufficiently stating its position. It requests that this paragraph include the relevant text
from the Long Form Notice. This objection is sustained. The paragraph shall be edited
to the following:
The Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are called “Class Representatives.” They are
asking for money damages and restitution allowed under California and
Federal law for themselves and the Class Members, as well as attorney’s
fees and costs incurred in connection with the lawsuit.
CoreCivic denies that it did anything wrong, and contends that it did not
coerce or force detainees to clean areas of the facility outside of their
personal living area under threat of punishment and did not violate Federal
or California law.
CoreCivic also denies that it violated California law with respect to
participants in the Voluntary Work Program in its California facilities and
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seeks an offset of any owed wages or damages by the amount it cost to
house detainees and operate the Voluntary Work Program.

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Defendant also objects to the “What happens if I’m a class member?” section and

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requests that the Court include some additional information, contained again in the Long

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Form Notice, regarding possible offsets. This objection is sustained. The text of this

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section shall read as follows:

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If you would like to be a Class Member in this class action lawsuit, you do
not need to do anything. Doing nothing means you will automatically be part
of the Class. The Class Representatives and Class Counsel will represent
your interests in the lawsuit. If any decisions are made or money or benefits
awarded, you will be notified on what you need to do next.

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As a Class Member in this class action, you will have to follow and comply
with any court decision in the case, whether favorable or unfavorable. You
will be bound by any settlement or judgment entered in this lawsuit. Any
damages award may be reduced to pay the costs and fees of Class Counsel,
and if you are a member of the California Labor Law class, any offset if
CoreCivic prevails on its counterclaim. You will also lose any right to
pursue similar claims for this time period on your own behalf, and you will
not be able to file another lawsuit raising similar claims.

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Television and Radio Advertisements

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Defendant makes the following objections to the television and radio ads:

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1.

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Defendant objects that an English version of the television ad has not been

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submitted. Plaintiffs only submitted a link to the Spanish ad. This objection is sustained

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in part. Plaintiffs do need to provide a version of the English ad before it airs. However,

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as long as it provides the same content (including video, images, and audio) as the

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Spanish ad which was included, the Court will approve the ad. This is subject to the

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rulings on the Spanish ad, as will be discussed below. In other words, the English ad

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should be identical to the Spanish ad, except for the translations of the text on the screen

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and spoken words. Plaintiffs do not need to submit the English ad to the Court for

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approval, but need to disclose it to Defendant.

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2.

Defendant objects to several photographs and videos in the television
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advertisement as unduly prejudicial and misleading. This objection is sustained in part.

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Plaintiffs may use the video/image of prison bars because there is no dispute that class

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members were detained in prison. The other videos cannot be used as they are prejudicial

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and may not portray an accurate reflection of plaintiffs’ circumstances.

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Defendant objects to the references in the ad to “Court Mandated Notice.”

This objection is sustained. References to this in the ads must be removed.

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Online and Social Media Advertisements

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Defendant makes the following objections to the online and social media ads:

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1.

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Defendant objects to the photograph of the angry man with a hat as

prejudicial. This objection is sustained. This image may not be used.
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Defendant objects to the wording “Were you forced to work against your

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will or in a Voluntary Work Program in California?” as discussed above for the webpage.

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This objection is sustained. The text shall instead read “Were you forced to work against

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your will, or did you participate in a Voluntary Work Program in California?”

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3.

Defendant objects to the references in the Facebook ad to “Court Mandated

Notice.” This objection is sustained. References to this in the ads must be removed.

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Spanish Translations

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1.

All translations must be made consistent with the above rulings.

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2.

Defendant objects to various translations throughout the notice materials

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related to the same issue—namely, that the English text states “were you detained,” “if

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you were a detainee,” and certain variations of that, but the Spanish translations provided

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by Plaintiff actually state that ICE “stopped” you at a Corecivic facility. This objection is

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sustained. The Court agrees with Defendant’s position—the translations should be

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modified to be a translation of “detained” rather than “stopped.”

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//

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//

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//

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//
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Conclusion

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Plaintiffs must make the modifications as outlined above in this Order by
December 31, 2020 and provide Defendant with any updated material by the same date.
Plaintiffs shall have until January 19, 2020 to begin execution of the class notice plan.1

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: December 18, 2020

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The website, phone line, and advertisements must go live to the public by this date. Ads to run on the
television or radio must be scheduled to start airing. Any notices that need to be mailed to potential
class members shall be mailed by this date.
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