Tavares v. Cargill, Incorporated ( 2022 )

1 MARLIN & SALTZMAN, LLP Stanley D. Saltzman, Esq. (SBN 90058) 2 Cody R. Kennedy, Esq. (SBN 296061) 29800 Agoura Road, Suite 210 3 Agoura Hills, CA 91301 Telephone: (818) 991-8080 4 Facsimile: (818) 991-8081 ssaltzman@marlinsaltzman.com 5 ckennedy@marlinsaltzman.com 6 Attorneys for Plaintiff MARIBEL TAVARES, et al 7 Jason E. Barsanti (SBN 235807) 8 jbarsanti@cozen.com 9 COZEN O’CONNOR 501 W. Broadway, Suite 1610 10 San Diego, CA 92101 11 Telephone: 619-234-1700 Facsimile: 619-234-7831 12 13 Attorneys for Defendants 14 CARGILL MEAT SOLUTIONS CORP and CARGILL, INCORPORATED 15 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 16 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, FRESNO DIVISION 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 -1- 1 MARIBEL TAVARES, individually, and ) Case No.: 1:18-CV-00792-DAD- on behalf of other members of the general ) SKO 2 public similarly situated and on behalf of ) 3 other aggrieved employees pursuant to the ) STIPULATION AND ORDER California Private Attorneys General Act, ) REGARDING BELAIRE -WEST 4 ) LANDSCAPE NOTICE Plaintiff, 5 ) vs. (Doc. 55) ) 6 CARGILL INCORPORATED, an ) Judge: Dale A. Drozd 7 unknown business entity; CARGILL ) Magistrate: Sheila K. Oberto MEAT SOLUTIONS CORP, an unknown ) 8 Complaint Filed: April 20, 2018 business entity; and DOES 1 through 100, ) Removed: June 8, 2018 9 inclusive, ) First Amended 10 Defendants. ) Complaint Filed: July 12, 2018 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 -2- 1 This stipulation is entered into by and between Plaintiff MARIBEL 2 TAVARES and DEFENDANT CARGILL MEAT SOLUTIONS CORP. 3 (“CMSC” and collectively, the “Parties”) with reference to the following facts: 4 On January 25, 2022, the Parties met and conferred and agreed to use the 5 procedures described in Belaire-West Landscape, Inc. v. Superior Court, (2007) 6 149 Cal. App. 4th 554 to notify certain affected persons of this litigation and give 7 them the opportunity to object to the disclosure to Plaintiff’s counsel of their 8 contact information (the Belaire Notice). The Belaire Notice shall be sent to 9 individuals which CMSC identified as non-exempt hourly employees employed at 10 CMSC’s Fresno location, who worked anytime from April 20, 2014 until the date 11 the Parties sign this Stipulation (the “Putative Class Members”). For the purpose 12 of effectuating such notice, the Parties have further agreed upon a Belaire process 13 through which CMSC will provide to Simpluris (the “Administrator”) the contact 14 information (name, last known mailing address, telephone number, and email 15 addresses (if available)) (the Contact Information) of the Putative Class Members. 16 NOW, THEREFORE, the Parties hereby stipulate, through their respective 17 attorneys, as follows: 18 1. Notice to the Putative Class Members of the proposed disclosure of 19 their Contact Information and their right to object to the disclosure shall be given 20 by way of a notice and return postcard, the contents of which are shown on 21 Exhibit A (Belaire Notice) hereto, to be administered by the Administrator. 22 2. Upon Plaintiff’s counsel contacting the Administrator as soon as this 23 Stipulation is signed by the Parties, the Administrator will immediately prepare 24 for mailing the agreed-upon Belaire Notice (Exhibit A) on the Administrator’s 25 letterhead. 26 3. Within fifteen (15) calendar days of notice to CMSC of the Court’s 27 entry of the Order approving this Stipulation, CMSC counsel shall email the -3- 1 Administrator, in electronic format, a complete list of the Contact Information for 2 the Putative Class Members as of the date the Parties sign this Stipulation, subject 3 to Plaintiff’s counsel first providing the Administrator with a copy of this 4 Stipulation and Order. 5 4. Within three (3) business days of the Administrator’s receipt of this 6 Stipulation and Order, the Administrator will send the agreed-upon Belaire Notice 7 (Exhibit A) to counsel for the Parties for approval. 8 5. Within seven (7) business days of the Administrator’s receipt of this 9 Stipulation and Order and the Putative Class Members’ Contact Information, the 10 Administrator shall run the Putative Class Members’ addresses through a National 11 Change of Address search once per Putative Class Member, and then shall mail 12 the Belaire Notice to the Putative Class Members by first-class U.S. Mail, with 13 business reply mail postage on the preaddressed return postcard. 14 6. If the Administrator receives any returned envelopes with forwarding 15 addresses, the Administrator will forward the Belaire Notice to the new address. 16 The Administrator will not forward the Belaire Notice more than once per Putative 17 Class Member. If the Administrator receives a returned envelope with no 18 forwarding address, the Administrator will take no further action with respect to 19 the notice contained in that envelope. 20 7. Putative Class Members shall have forty-five (45) calendar days from 21 the date on the Belaire Notice to request that their Contact Information not be 22 disclosed to Plaintiff’s counsel, as stated in the Belaire Notice. The decision by a 23 Putative Class Member to object to the disclosure of his or her Contact Information 24 may be communicated no later than the date on the Belaire Notice by signing and 25 mailing the return postcard to the Administrator, postmarked no later than the date 26 on the Belaire Notice, or by emailing as an attachment a clear and readable picture 27 of the signed return postcard to the Administrator no later than the date on the -4- 1 Belaire Notice. 2 8. CMSC and Defendant Cargill, Inc. shall not undertake to encourage 3 any Putative Class Member to object to the disclosure of his or her Contact 4 Information. 5 9. Five (5) business days after the deadline for Putative Class Members 6 to object to the disclosure of their Contact Information by mailing the return 7 postcard to request that their Contact Information not be disclosed, the 8 Administrator shall email to counsel for Plaintiff and CMSC an Excel spreadsheet 9 with each Putative Class Member’s updated Contact Information, except the 10 Administrator shall first remove the Contact Information for those Putative Class 11 Members, if any, who timely objected to the disclosure of their Contact 12 Information and those Putative Class Members, if any, whose Belaire Notices were 13 returned to the Administrator as undeliverable. The Administrator will advise 14 counsel for the Parties of any questions regarding the timeliness or validity of a 15 Putative Class Member’s objection, and counsel for the Parties will work together 16 in good faith to resolve them. 17 10. Plaintiff’s counsel shall use the Contact Information provided to them 18 by the Administrator only for purposes of this litigation, and shall not disseminate 19 any of the Contact Information to any other person or entity. The Contact 20 Information and all information derived therefrom shall be deemed Confidential 21 pursuant to the Stipulation and Protective Order entered into by the Parties and 22 shall be governed accordingly. Counsel for Plaintiff shall provide a copy of the 23 Stipulation and Protective Order to the Administrator at the outset of the 24 Administrator’s engagement, and the Administrator shall agree in writing to be 25 bound thereby. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Paragraph or in 26 the Stipulation and Protective Order, no Contact Information shall be disclosed to 27 Plaintiff. -5- 1 11. Except for the administration fees and costs pertaining to the opt-outs 2 by email, the Parties shall each pay 50 percent of the Administrator’s fees and 3 costs for the Belaire Notice. CMSC will pay 100 percent of the additional fees and 4 costs incurred by the administration and utilization of opt-outs by email. 5 12. Either Party may ask the Court to modify this Stipulation, on noticed 6 motion or ex parte application, for good cause shown. 7 13. The Court’s Order on this Stipulation shall survive the termination of 8 this action. 9 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 10 Dated: January 31, 2021 COZEN O’CONNOR 11 12 By: /s/ Jason Barsanti Jason Barsanti 13 Attorneys for Defendants 14 Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation Cargill, Incorporated 15 16 Dated: January 31, 2021 MARLIN & SALTZMAN 17 By: /s/ Cody R. Kennedy 18 Stanley D. Saltzman Cody R. Kennedy 19 Attorneys for Plaintiffs 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 -6- 1 ORDER 2 Good cause appearing, the Parties’ foregoing Stipulation (Doc. 55) is hereby 3 approved and adopted as an Order of the Court. 4 IT IS SO ORDERED. 5 6 Dated: February 1, 2022 /s/ Sheila K. Oberto . UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 -7- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 -8- EXHIBIT A to Stipulation re Belaire-West Landscape Notice PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY YOU ARE NOT BEING SUED. THIS NOTICE RELATES TO YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS. _________________, 2022 NOTICE OF RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE DISCLOSURE OF YOUR NAME AND PERSONAL CONTACT INFORMATION Greetings: You are receiving this letter because our records show that you fall within a group of non-exempt hourly employees included in the Maribel Tavares v. Cargill Inc., et al., lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court of California, Eastern District, Case No. 1:18-cv-00792-DAD-SKO against Defendant Cargill, Inc. and Defendant Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. (“CMSC”). The purpose of this notice is to give you an opportunity to object to the disclosure of your contact information, which Plaintiff and her counsel seek in connection with this lawsuit. Plaintiff’s Lawsuit An individual who formerly worked for CMSC as an non-exempt hourly employee has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of herself and others similarly situated. Plaintiff’s proposed class includes all non-exempt hourly employees, who were employed at CMSC’s Fresno location anytime from April 20, 2014 to present. The Plaintiff, Maribel Tavares, alleges that CMSC violated California law by failing to pay for overtime wages and minimum wages, failing to provide a meal or rest break or a premium payment in lieu thereof, failure to timely pay final wages, and not providing accurate wage statements. CMSC and Cargill, Inc. deny these allegations and contends that they comply with California law. This case is now in the discovery phase. The Court has not yet ruled on the merits of Plaintiff’s claims, including whether Cargill, Inc. is a joint employer of aggrieved employees. Why Your Name and Contact Information Are Being Requested Both sides are investigating the facts and merits of Ms. Tavares’ claims. As part of this investigation, Plaintiff and her counsel have requested and obtained a court order that requires CMSC to provide the 1) full name; 2) home address; 3) telephone number; and 4) email address (collectively “contact information”) for all non-exempt hourly employees, who were employed anytime at CMSC’s Fresno location from April 20, 2014 to present. If you do not want your contact information to be disclosed to the Plaintiff’s attorneys, you must complete the enclosed prepaid, pre-addressed postcard objecting to the disclosure of your contact information and either mail back the completed prepaid postcard or email as an attachment a picture of the completed postcard to the Administrator at [EMAIL ADDRESS] no later than [DATE] (45 days after mailing date of notice). CMSC must disclose your contact information unless you object to the disclosure. If your contact information is disclosed to Plaintiff’s counsel, then your information will be kept confidential and will not be used for purposes other than our investigation and representation of the employees in this case. with CMSC will not be affected by your decision to allow or not allow your contact information to be disclosed to the Plaintiff's attorneys. You are free to contact any of the lawyers for the Plaintiff or CMSC listed below if you have questions about this notice or the lawsuit. LAWYERS FOR PLAINTIFF: LAWYERS FOR CMSC: MARLIN & SALTZMAN, LLP COZEN O’CONNOR Stanley D. Saltzman, Esq. Jason E. Barsanti, Esq. Cody R. Kennedy, Esq. 501 W. Broadway, Suite 1610 Marissa A. Mayhood, Esq. San Diego, CA 92101 29800 Agoura Road, Suite 210 Agoura Hills, California 91301 Telephone: (619) 234-1700 Telephone: (818) 991-8080 PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT ABOUT THIS NOTICE. [Name and Address of Third Party Administrator] I have read the notice regarding the lawsuit filed against CMSC and the request of the Plaintiff's attorneys to communicate with me as part of their investigation. Please do not disclose my name, address, telephone number, and email address to the Plaintiff's attorneys. Dated:___________________ By: ______________________________ [Sign your name here before sending] ______________________________ [Print your name here before sending] To prevent disclosure of your contact information, you must mail this postcard with a postmark no later than [the date that is 45 days after the notice is mailed], or send a clear and readable picture of this completed postcard as an email attachment to no later than [the date that is 45 days after the notice is mailed]. [Name and Address of Third Party Administrator]