Chapman v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. ( 2020 )

1 DLaawni eOl fVfi.c eSsa notfi aDgaon, iEels qV. .( SSatanttei aBgaor, NP.oC. .2 06532) 2 355 South Grand Avenue, Suite 2450 Los Angeles, California 90071 3 Phone: (760) 652-9801 E-mail: dvs@dvslawoffices.com 4 Brian D. Gonzales, Esq. (pro hac vice application to be filed) 5 The Law Offices of Brian D. Gonzales, PLLC 6 2580 East Harmony Road, Suite 201 Fort Collins, Colorado 80528 7 Phone: (970) 214-0562 E-mail: BGonzales@ColoradoWageLaw.com 8 Dustin T. Lujan, Esq. (pro hac vice application to be filed) 9 Lujan Law Office 10 1603 Capitol Ave, Suite 310 A559 Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001 11 Phone: (970) 999-4225 E-mail: wyoadvocate@gmail.com 12 Attorneys for Plaintiffs, Travis Chapman and 13 John Churchwell, and the Proposed Class 14 15 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 16 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 17 TRAVIS CHAPMAN and Case No. 2:19-cv-00410-TLN-DMC JOHN CHURCHWELL, 18 individually, on behalf of all others similarly [Previously Shasta Superior Court Case No. situated, and as representatives of the State of SCRDCVCV19-0191805-000 Assigned to the 19 California on behalf of all aggrieved employees, Hon. Stephen H. Baker, Department 3] 20 Plaintiffs, STIIPULATION AND ORDER 21 REGARDING BELAIRE NOTICE TO v. PROPOSED CLASS MEMBERS 22 23 FEDEX GROUND PACKAGE SYSTEM, INC., a Delaware corporation d/b/a 24 FedEx Home Delivery, and DOES 1 through 50, inclusive, 25 Defendants. 26 27 28 1 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the Plaintiffs, TRAVIS CHAPMAN and 2 JOHN CHURCHWELL, and the Defendant, FEDEX GROUND PACKAGE SYSTEM, INC., by and 3 through their respective undersigned counsel, that: 4 1. In order to facilitate Plaintiffs’ obtaining the personal contact information of proposed 5 class members from Defendant’s records, the parties agree to utilize the notice to proposed class 6 members attached hereto as Exhibit 1, which is incorporated herein by reference. 7 2. Within seven (7) days of the expiration of the 30-day notice period set forth in the 8 notice to proposed class members attached hereto as Exhibit 1, Defendant shall disclose to Plaintiffs’ 9 counsel the contact information of all proposed class members who do not “opt-out” or object to the 10 disclosure of their contact information as set forth in said notice. 11 3. Said notice is in accordance with Williams v. Superior Court, 3 Cal. 5th 531, 544 (2017) 12 and the “opt-out” notice process approved in Belaire-West Landscape, Inc. v. Superior Court, 149 13 Cal. App. 4th 554, 561 (2007). 14 4. The notice shall be handled by a third-party administrator whose fees shall be split 15 “50/50” by Plaintiffs on the one hand, and Defendant on the other. 16 5. This Stipulation and [Proposed] Order may be executed in counterparts. 17 Dated: January 2, 2020 Respectfully submitted, 18 19 By: Daniel V. Santiago 20 Attorney for Plaintiffs, TRAVIS CHAPMAN and JOHN CHURCHWELL 21 Dated: January 2, 2020 Respectfully submitted, 22 23 24 By: /s/ Christopher M. Ahearn (as authorized on 12/20/19) Brandy T. Cody 25 Christopher M. Ahearn Attorney for Defendant, 26 FEDEX GROUND PACKAGE SYSTEM, INC. 27 28 1 ORDER 2 GOOD CAUSE APPEARING, the Court hereby approves this Stipulation and authorizes 3 the parties to utilize the notice to proposed class members attached hereto as Exhibit 1. 4 IT IS SO ORDERED. 5 Dated: January 3, 2020 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 EXHIBIT 1 Notice of Disclosure of Your Personal Contact Information In Connection With A Potential Class Action Lawsuit Against FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. You have been identified as someone who might be part of a potential class action lawsuit that is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Case No. 2:19- ev-00410-TLN-DMC, against FedEx Ground Package System. Inc. (“Defendant” or “FedEx Ground”). The lawsuit is brought by Travis Chapman and John Churchwell (“Plaintiffs”) and is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Plaintiffs contend that this lawsuit can be brought as a class action on behalf of themselves and the following proposed Class: all California residents who worked for one or more independent service providers (“ISPs”) with whom Defendant contracted as drivers picking up and/or delivering FedEx Ground packages from Defendant’s terminal in Redding, California, at any time within the time period of four (4) years preceding the filing of the Class Action Complaint in this action up to and through the time of trial. The Court has not yet made a determination of whether or not Plaintiffs’ lawsuit has any merit or should proceed as a class action. Plaintiffs contend that Defendant was a joint employer of Plaintiffs and the potential class members throughout their employment by the ISPs. Plaintiffs claim that Defendant and the ISPs regularly failed, inter alia: (a) to pay Plaintiffs and the potential class members overtime wages at the applicable overtime rates of pay for all overtime hours worked in excess of 8 hours in one workday and 40 hours in one workweek: (b) to furnish Plaintiffs and the potential class members with accurate, itemized wage statements: and (c) to pay Plaintiffs and the potential class members all wages due upon termination of their employment. FedEx Ground denies that it employed Plaintiffs and any potential class members and denies Plaintiffs’ claims. FedEx Ground contends, among other things, that Plaintiffs’ claims should have been brought, if at all, against the ISPs that employed them and were responsible for paying their wages. FedEx Ground also contends that Plaintiffs’ claims are subject to legal exemptions and preemptions specific to truck drivers. Plaintiffs’ attorneys have requested that Defendant release your contact information (i.e., name, addresses [home and work], phone numbers [home, work and cell] and email addresses [personal and work] to the extent known by Defendant) so that they may contact you regarding the lawsuit. The purpose of this letter is to give you the opportunity to withhold your contact information from Plaintiffs’ attorneys if you do not wish to be contacted by them. IF YOU AGREE TO PLAINTIFFS’ ATTORNEYS RECEIVING YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION, you do not need to do anything in response to this notice. Please note that the release of your contact information will not automatically make you a plaintiff in the lawsuit. If your contact information is released, you still have the right to decide if you want to participate. IF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED TO PLAINTIFFS’ ATTORNEY, you must complete, sign and return the enclosed, self-addressed, postage-paid postcard. This postcard must be received by the third-party administrator whose address is self-addressed no later than 30 days after the date of the mailing of this Notice. If you have any questions concerning this notice, you may contact the administrator who mailed the notice at CAC Services Group, LLC, Attention: Nancy Johnson or Jeffrey Johnson, 6420 Flying Cloud Dr., Suite 101, Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55344, office phone: 952-224-2192, toll- free phone: 866-602-2260, fax: 888-495-9746, e-mails: njohnson@cacservicesgroup.com and jjohnson@cacservicesgroup.com. In order to respect your choice regarding this matter, the parties have agreed not to initiate communications with you regarding this lawsuit during the disclosure opt-out period. Additionally, you have no obligation to speak to any attorney or anyone else about this case. Your rights regarding this lawsuit will not be affected in any way whether you choose to speak to the attorneys or not, or whether you choose to have your contact information disclosed. Neither Plaintiffs nor Defendant will retaliate against you in any way. This Notice is not a communication from the Court and is not an expression of any opinion by the Court as to the merits of the claims or defense by either side in this case. Please do not contact the Court.