Landry's Inc. et al v. Brian Sandoval, et al
Filing
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ORDER Denying 16 Motion to Intervene without prejudice. The request to appear as amicus curie is DENIED. Signed by Magistrate Judge Peggy A. Leen on 3/28/16. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - TR)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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LANDRY’S, INC., et al.,
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Case No. 2:15-cv-01160-GMN-PAL
Plaintiffs,
ORDER
v.
(Mot. to Intervene – Dkt. #16)
BRIAN SANDOVAL, et al.,
Defendants.
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This matter is before the Court on Proposed Intervenor-Defendant AFL-CIO’s Motion to
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Intervene or to Participate as Amicus Curie (Dkt. #16). This Motion is referred to the undersigned
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pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A) and LR IB 1-3 and 1-9 of the Local Rules of Practice. After
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the Motion was filed, Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint (Dkt. #17), which prompted the AFL-
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CIO to file a Supplemental Memorandum (Dkt. #20) in support of the Motion. The Court has
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considered the Motion, Supplemental Memorandum (Dkt. #20), Plaintiffs’ Response (Dkt. #28),
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Reply (Dkt. #33), and the Supplemental Declarations of Danny Thompson (Dkt. ##34, 35).
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BACKGROUND
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On June 19, 2015, Plaintiffs Landry’s Inc.; Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurants, Inc.; and
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Nevada Restaurant Services, Inc., doing business as Dotty’s Gaming and Spirits, Laughlin River
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Lodge, and Hoover Dam Lodge (jointly, “Plaintiffs”) commenced this case by filing a Complaint
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(Dkt. #1). Plaintiffs are challenging Nevada’s Minimum Wage Amendment, as set forth in Article
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15, Section 16 of the Nevada Constitution (the “Amendment”), along with the implementing
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regulations found in Chapter 608 of the Nevada Administrative Code, NAC 608.100 – 608.108
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(the “Regulations”). See Am. Compl. (Dkt. #17).
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In 2004, Nevada voters approved a ballot initiative that sought to amend the state
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constitution to include a two-tiered minimum wage that deviates from the federal minimum wage
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based on cost of living increases. Id. ¶ 17. Subject to certain conditions, employers would pay the
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lower tier minimum wage if they offered “health benefits” to their employees or pay the higher
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tier minimum wage if they did not offer health benefits. However, the term “health benefits” was
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not defined in the initiative. Id. ¶ 21. In accordance with Nevada law requiring voters to approve
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a proposed constitutional amendment in two consecutive general elections, the initiative was
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placed on the 2006 ballot and voters once again approved and ratified the proposal. Id. ¶ 19. The
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ballot initiative was eventually codified as the Amendment and became effective on November
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28, 2006. Id. ¶ 20. See also Nev. Const. art. 15, § 16.
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In the current action, Plaintiffs allege the Amendment and Regulations are unconstitutional,
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violate their due process rights, and are preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security
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Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). See Am. Compl. (Dkt. #17). Plaintiffs further allege that Defendants
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lack authority under the Amendment to promulgate or enforce the Regulations. The Amended
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Complaint seeks a declaratory judgment that: (I) ERISA preempts the Amendment and
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Regulations; (II) the Amendment and Regulations violate the Commerce Clause of the United
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States Constitution; (III) the Governor’s delegation of authority to promulgate and enforce the
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Regulations and Amendment violates the United States and Nevada Constitutions; (IV) the
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Regulations are unconstitutional because they exceed the Labor Commissioner and the Insurance
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Commissioner’s authority; (V) the Amendment and Regulations violate due process protected by
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the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States and Nevada Constitution.
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In the Motion, the AFL-CIO claims an interest in this action and requests permission to
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intervene to protect its interest. See Mot. to Intervene (Dkt. #16), filed July 8, 2015. The Motion
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attaches a proposed motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint. See Mot. Exs. 1 & 2 (Dkt. #16-1).
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Plaintiffs subsequently filed an Amended Complaint (Dkt. #17), which prompted the AFL-CIO to
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file a Supplemental Memorandum (Dkt. #20) attaching a revised version of its proposed motion to
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dismiss. See Supplemental Memo. Ex. A (Dkt. #20-1). The Motion asserts that the AFL-CIO has
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a significant protectable interest at stake for two reasons: (1) the union actively supported the
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minimum wage Amendment’s enactment; and (2) the Amendment has helped increase the
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compensation of the AFL-CIO’s members and “level the playing field” between non-union
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employers and unionized employers.
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Plaintiffs oppose the AFL-CIO’s intervention, arguing that the union does not have an
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interest here because most—if not all—unionized employers provide health benefits meeting the
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standard set forth by the Amendment. See Pls.’ Response (Dkt. #28) at 9. However, Plaintiffs do
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not dispute the AFL-CIO’s involvement with the ballot initiative approving the Amendment.
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Ninth Circuit case law demonstrates that, at a minimum, the AFL-CIO has a protectable interest
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based on its support of the Amendment.
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Defendants Nevada Governor, Brian Sandoval, the Nevada Labor Commissioner, Shannon
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Chambers, and the acting Nevada Insurance Commissioner, Amy L. Parks, did not oppose the
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AFL-CIO’s Motion and the time for filing an opposition has now passed. Defendants have moved
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to dismiss the Amended Complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) of the of the Federal Rules of Civil
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Procedure. See Mots. to Dismiss (Dkt. #25, #27). Governor Sandoval and Labor Commissioner
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Chambers argue the amended complaint raises an abstract question of law, is barred by the
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Eleventh Amendment, and Plaintiffs cannot show an injury in fact traceable to the Defendants.
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They also argue the complaint is barred by the Eleventh Amendment, that Governor Sandoval and
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Commissioner Parks are not proper parties, the principle of legislative immunity bars this action,
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the statute of limitations bars this action, and Plaintiffs have failed to state a cognizable civil rights
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claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
DISCUSSION
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Rule 24 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits anyone to intervene who “claims
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an interest relating to the property or transaction that is the subject of the action, and is so situated
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that disposing of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede the movant’s ability to
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protect its interest, unless existing parties adequately represent that interest.” Fed. R. Civ. Pro.
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24(a)(2). A party seeking to intervene as of right under Rule 24 must demonstrate that four
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requirements are met:
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(1) the intervention application is timely; (2) the applicant has a significant
protectable interest relating to the property or transaction that is the subject of the
action; (3) the disposition of the action may, as a practical matter, impair or impede
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the applicant’s ability to protect its interest; and (4) the existing parties may not
adequately represent the applicant’s interest.
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Citizens for Balanced Use v. Montana Wilderness Ass’n, 647 F.3d 893, 897 (9th Cir. 2011)
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(quoting Prete v. Bradbury, 438 F.3d 949, 954 (9th Cir. 2006)). An applicant for intervention
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bears the burden of showing that all four requirements are met. PEST Comm. v. Miller, 648 F.
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Supp. 2d 1202, 1211 (D. Nev. 2009), aff’d, 626 F.3d 1097 (9th Cir. 2010).
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Additionally, Rule 24(c) requires that a proposed intervenor file and serve a motion to
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intervene along with “a pleading that sets out the claim or defense for which intervention is
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sought.” A pleading accompanying a motion to intervene under Rule 24(c) should be one of those
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described in Rule 7(a) (i.e. a complaint, an answer, a reply to a counterclaim, an answer to a cross-
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claim, a third-party complaint, or a third-party answer) so that all parties understand the position,
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claims, and nature of relief sought by the applicant. John Bourdeau & Francis M. Dougherty et
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al., 25 Federal Procedure, Lawyers Edition § 59:404 (2016).
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Rule 24(c)’s requirement of submitting a pleading is mandatory. Shevlin v. Schewe, 809
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F.2d 447, 450 (7th Cir. 1987) (“Lawsuits cannot be tried merely on memoranda.”); see also Brown
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v. Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico, 277 F.R.D. 73, 76 (D.P.R. 2011); F.T.C. v. Med Resorts
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Int'l, Inc., 199 F.R.D. 601, 606 (N.D. Ill. 2001). “The purpose of requiring an intervenor to file a
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pleading is to place the other parties on notice of the claimant’s position, the nature and basis of
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the claim asserted, and the relief sought by the intervenor.” Dillard v. City of Foley, 166 F.R.D.
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503, 506 (M.D. Ala. 1996). Courts have occasionally relaxed the requirement to submit a proposed
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pleading where the purpose of intervention and the claims and defenses the intervenor intends to
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pursue are made clear in the motion to intervene. See, e.g., Beckman Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Ins. Co.,
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966 F.2d 470, 474 (9th Cir. 1992) (noting that intervention motions have been approved without a
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pleading where the motion sufficiently apprised the court of the grounds for intervention). “This
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is not to say that the requirements of Rule 24(c) should be disregarded, but only that a deserving
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applicant for intervention is not likely to be turned away because of a procedural blunder of no
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real significance.” Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller et al., 7C Federal Practice &
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Procedure § 1914 (3d ed. 2015). In some cases, the proposed intervenor has been permitted to
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simply adopt the pleading of an existing party, without submitting its own pleading. See, e.g.,
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Alexander v. Hall, 64 F.R.D. 152, 156 (D.S.C. 1974).
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Here, the AFL-CIO submitted a proposed motion to dismiss with the Motion to Intervene,
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but not a pleading within the definition of Rule 7(a). Thus, the AFL-CIO has failed to satisfy the
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mandatory pleading requirement of Rule 24(c). Although this requirement is sometimes relaxed,
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the Court finds that the lack of a pleading is significant because it is not clear which positions of
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the parties are consistent with and which positions are inconsistent with the AFL-CIO’s interests.
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For example, the AFL-CIO argues that Defendants will not adequately represent its
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interests even though both Defendants and the union would defend the propriety of the
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Amendment. However, the AFL-CIO agrees with the Plaintiffs that the Labor Commissioner has
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exceeded her authority by promulgating the Regulations at issue. See Pls.’ Resp. (Dkt. #28), Ex.
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4, Aug. 22, 2014 Letter from AFL-CIO counsel. Thus, the AFL-CIO’s intervention would not
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support Defendants’ position on the Regulations, only the Amendment.
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Plaintiffs initiated this action to have both the Amendment and the Regulations struck
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down. Plaintiffs’ opposition to the Motion asserts that they will “vigorously represent” the AFL-
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CIO’s interests by seeking a declaration that the Regulations are “unconstitutional and void ab
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initio.” Id. at 21:6–9. The Ninth Circuit has held that the “ ‘most important factor’ in assessing
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the adequacy of representation is ‘how the interest compares with the interests of existing parties’.”
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Citizens for Balanced Use, 647 F.3d at 898 (quoting Arakaki, 324 F.3d at 1086). The briefing
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indicates that the AFL-CIO’s interests would align with Plaintiffs for some issues and with
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Defendants on other issues. A complaint in intervention is needed to state the purposes for which
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the AFL-CIO is intervening, and with whom its interests are aligned on the issues raised in the
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Amended Complaint.
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Additionally, if the Defendants’ pending motions to dismiss the Amended Complaint are
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granted, Plaintiffs are likely to receive leave to amend any deficiencies found by the district judge
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since Defendants do not assert amendment would be futile. The district judge’s decision should
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clarify which Defendants are properly named and whether certain of the Defendants should be
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dismissed or substituted. Finally, the court will deny the request to participate as amicus curie.
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The district judge should not be burdened with a multitude of supplemental papers filed by the
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AFL-CIO as a result of the changing procedural posture of this case.
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Accordingly,
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IT IS ORDERED:
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1.
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AFL-CIO’s Motion to Intervene (Dkt. #16) is DENIED without prejudice. A proposed
complaint in intervention shall be attached to any future motion to intervene.
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2. The request to appear as amicus curie is DENIED.
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Dated this 28th day of March, 2016.
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PEGGY A. LEEN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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