Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_15-cv-01631/USCOURTS-casd-3_15-cv-01631-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 28:1441ij Removal- Injunctive/Declaratory Relief

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

MICHELLE RENEE MCGRATH and 

VERONICA O’BOY, on behalf of 

themselves and all others similarly 

situated,

Plaintiffs,

v.

WYNDHAM RESORT 

DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, an 

Oregon corporation; WYNDHAM 

VACATION OWNERSHIP, INC., a 

Delaware corporation; WYNDHAM 

VACATION RESORTS, INC., a 

Delaware corporation; WYNDHAM 

WORLDWIDE OPERATIONS, INC., a 

Delaware corporation; and DOES 1 

through 10, inclusive,

Defendants.

Case No.: 15cv1631 JM (KSC)

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO 

OPT OUT

Class member James Shannon Abbott (“Abbott”) moves the court to opt out of the 

class action settlement in this case. (Doc. No. 83.) Defendants Wyndham Resort 

Development Corporation, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, Inc., and Wyndham 

Worldwide Operations, Inc. (collectively, “Defendants” or “Wyndham”) object. 

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(Doc. No. 88.) For the following reasons, the court denies Abbott’s motion. 

BACKGROUND

Abbott works at Wyndham Oceanside Pier in Oceanside, California. During the 

class period, Abbott worked 204 weeks. Under the Settlement Agreement, (Doc. No. 73), 

Abbott would receive an estimated $11,515.89. The terms of the Settlement Agreement 

required eligible class members to request exclusion from the class by November 13, 2017. 

Abbott submitted notice of his request to opt out on December 6, 2017, twenty-three days 

after the deadline had passed. (Doc. No. 83, Exh. 1.) On January 16, 2018, six days before 

the final settlement approval hearing, Abbott filed the instant pro se motion. 

LEGAL STANDARDS

Abbott seeks to opt out of the class in this action, despite his untimely request to do 

so, based on excusable neglect under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 6(b) and 60(b). 

Under Rule 6(b)(1)(B), “[w]hen an act may or must be done within a specified time, the 

court may, for good cause, extend the time on motion made after the time has expired if 

the party failed to act because of excusable neglect.” Under Rule 60(b)(1), “[o]n motion 

and just terms, the court may relieve a party or its legal representative from a final 

judgment, order, or proceeding for . . . excusable neglect.”

Courts apply the excusable neglect standard to determine whether to permit a class 

member to opt out after the court-ordered deadline has passed. In re Lithium Ion Batteries 

Antitrust Litig., 2017 WL 6497597, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 19, 2017). Courts use the 

following Pioneer factors to determine whether excusable neglect exists: (1) the danger of 

prejudice to nonmoving parties; (2) the length of delay in seeking relief; (3) the reason for 

the delay, including whether it was within the reasonable control of the movant; and (4) 

whether movant acted in good faith. Pioneer Inv. Servs. Co. v. Brunswick Assocs. Ltd. 

P’ship, 507 U.S. 380, 395 (1993). Denial of a motion to opt out of a class is reviewed for 

abuse of discretion. Silber v. Mabon, 18 F.3d 1449, 1453 (9th Cir. 1994). 

///

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DISCUSSION

Abbott argues that Wyndham is in no way prejudiced by the twenty-three day delay 

in submitting his request for exclusion. However, after November 13, 2017, it would have 

been reasonable for Wyndham to understand that all excluded class members had been 

identified. Furthermore, the court granted final approval of the Settlement Agreement, 

(Doc. Nos. 85, 91), giving Wyndham a finality interest. 

As for the length of his delay, Abbott argues that it “has no effect whatsoever on this 

proceeding and has zero impact on the class settlement.” (Doc. No. 83 at 5.) Abbott 

submitted his request for exclusion to the settlement administrator twenty-three days after 

the deadline had passed. An additional month and a half later, six days before the final 

settlement approval hearing, Abbott filed the instant motion seeking relief from the 

November 13, 2017 deadline. If Abbott were permitted to opt out, the total number of 

exclusions would be seven out of 2,083 eligible class members. That number falls far 

below the 2.5% of exclusions required to trigger Defendants’ right to rescind the Settlement 

Agreement. (Doc. No. 73 ¶ 42.) In that respect, Abbott’s exclusion would not affect the 

class settlement. However, other factors weigh against a finding of excusable neglect.

The reason Abbott gives for his delay is a severe motor vehicle accident he was 

involved in on November 30, 2016, nearly a year before the opt-out deadline. (Declaration 

of James Shannon Abbott (“Abbott Decl.”) ¶ 2.) The accident left Abbott with “serious 

and disabling injuries” that limit his reading, and thus his wife handles their mail. 

(Id. ¶¶ 2, 7.) It was not until an attorney representing him in a Tennessee case informed 

him about this action that Abbott went through his mail, located, and read the notice letter 

in early December. Abbott then submitted notice of his request to opt out.

However, Defendants note that “there is no evidence that Mr. Abbott was impaired 

or prevented from responding” during the notice period from September 13, 2017, to 

November 13, 2017. (Doc. No. 88 at 3 (emphasis in original).) Other than a reference to 

being “bombarded” with solicitation letters from attorneys relating to his accident, Abbott 

provides no reason for why he or his wife did not see and act on the notice letter from this 

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action. Throughout 2017, Abbott remained an active employee of Wyndham, working 223 

days during the year, including thirty-three days during the notice period. (Doc.

No. 88-1 ¶ 2.) Abbott himself informed the court that by June 29, 2017, he had already 

earned $282,266.00 for the first half of 2017. (Abbott Decl. ¶ 10.) Moreover, during the 

notice period, Abbott gave a deposition and testified at trial in a collective action against 

Wyndham pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, 

Case No. 3:13-cv-00641-HSM-CCS (“Pierce Litigation”).1

 Abbott’s ability to work at 

Wyndham and participate in the Pierce Litigation throughout the notice period belies his 

claim for excusable neglect. 

Despite Abbott’s condition after his November 2016 accident, it appears that the 

reason for the delay was entirely “within the reasonable control of the movant.” See

Pioneer Inv. Servs. Co., 507 U.S. at 395. There is no allegation that the notice letter arrived 

after the deadline passed. Once he looked through his mail, Abbott found the notice letter. 

His or his wife’s failure to do so earlier does not rise to the level of excusable neglect. 

Thus, while there is no evidence that Abbott’s request was not brought in good faith, he 

has failed to demonstrate excusable neglect. Accordingly, the court denies his motion. 

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, the court denies Abbott’s motion to opt out. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: January 31, 2018 

JEFFREY T. MILLER

United States District Judge

 

1 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 201, the court grants Defendants’ request for 

judicial notice of the excerpts of Abbott’s deposition and trial testimony in the Pierce 

Litigation. (Doc. No. 89.) 

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