Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_12-cv-00944/USCOURTS-cand-3_12-cv-00944-31/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Civil Rights Act

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No. C 12-00944 JST 1 SUBMISSION RE OPT-OUT PROCESS

KELLER

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Jeffrey Lewis

(State Bar No. 66587)

Jacob Richards

(State Bar No. 273476)

KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P.

300 Lakeside Drive, Suite 1000

Oakland, CA 94612

(510) 463-3900

Fax (510) 463-3901

jlewis@kellerrohrback.com

jrichards@kellerrohrback.com

Attorneys for Plaintiffs and Class

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

RETIREE SUPPORT GROUP OF CONTRA

COSTA COUNTY, MICHAEL SLOAN,

DEBORAH ELITE, SUSANNE BEADLE, BILLIE

JOE WILSON ELKIN, ALYN GOLDSMITH,

AND ALICE GROTHMANN,

Plaintiffs,

v.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY,

Defendant.

No. C 12-00944 JST

SUBMISSION RE OPT-OUT PROCESS AND

[PROPOSED] ORDER

Judge: Jon S. Tigar

Courtroom 9, 19th Floor

Pursuant to Paragraph 1 of the Court’s August 2, 2016 Order Adopting Curative Notice and

Setting Distribution Schedule (ECF 202), the parties and AFSCME Retiree Chapter 57 hereby file

this submission and proposed order. The parties and AFSCME Retiree Chapter 57 have met and

conferred with regard to the within Settlement Administrator Procedure For Certain Opt-Outs and

have agreed upon its form, including all attachments.

By: s/ Jeffrey Lewis

Jeffrey Lewis, SBN 66587

Attorneys for Plaintiffs and the Class

By: s/ Lorrie E. Bradley

Lorrie E. Bradley, SBN 309411

Attorneys for AFSCME Retiree Chapter 57

Case 3:12-cv-00944-JST Document 207 Filed 08/08/16 Page 1 of 8
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No. C 12-00944 JST 2 SUBMISSION RE OPT-OUT PROCESS

KELLER

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By: s/ Raymond F. Lynch

Raymond F. Lynch, SBN 119065

Attorneys for Defendant Contra Costa County

The Court having reviewed the within documents, it is hereby ORDERED that the

Settlement Administrator shall follow the procedure and use the forms set forth therein.

IT IS SO ORDERED

Dated: ______________________, 2106

______________________________________

JON S. TIGAR

United States District Judge

August 8

2016

Case 3:12-cv-00944-JST Document 207 Filed 08/08/16 Page 2 of 8
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No. C 12-00944 JST 3 SUBMISSION RE OPT-OUT PROCESS

KELLER

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SIGNATURES UNDER GENERAL ORDER NO. 45

Pursuant to General Order No. 45 of the United States District Court, Northern District of

California, I, Jeffrey Lewis—the ECF User whose User ID and Password are used in the filing of

this document—hereby attests that the concurrence to the filing of this document has been

obtained from each of the other signatories to this document.

s/ Jeffrey Lewis

Jeffrey Lewis, SBN 66587

Case 3:12-cv-00944-JST Document 207 Filed 08/08/16 Page 3 of 8
SETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATOR PROCEDURE FOR CERTAIN OPT-OUTS

Pursuant to Paragraph 1 of the Court’s August 2, 2016 Order (ECF 202), the parties to

this action and AFSCME Retiree Chapter 57 (“Chapter 57”) hereby submit to the Court the

following proposed procedure regarding certain opt-outs that have been or may be submitted to

the Settlement Administrator.

1. This procedure applies to certain purported opt-outs submitted to the Settlement

Administrator at any time from the date of mailing of the Court’s original Notice to the Class

through the 5th business day after the mailing by the Settlement Administrator of the Corrective

Notice ordered by the Court (“opt-outs”). These opt-outs are limited to those submitted by or on

behalf of any person on the list produced to the Settlement Administrator by Chapter 57 pursuant

to ECF 202.

2. This procedure does not apply to any purported opt-outs that are in the form sent by

Chapter 57, as the Court already has found those to be invalid and they shall not be submitted to

the Court by the Settlement Administrator. The definition of “opt-outs” in Paragraph 1 above

therefore shall not include such purported opt-outs.

3. By the 7th business day after the date it mailed the Court’s Corrective Notice, the

Settlement Administrator shall call each person who submitted an opt-out if the opt-out contains

a telephone number. If there is no answer, the Settlement Administrator shall leave a voicemail

message, if possible. If there is no voicemail possible or if the person submitting the opt-out

does not reply within 48 hours, the Settlement Administrator shall call again.

4. Upon reaching the person submitting the opt-out by telephone, the Settlement

Administrator shall use the script attached hereto as Exhibit A. If the person has further

questions, the Settlement Administrator shall refer them to counsel for Plaintiffs and the Class.

5. The Settlement Administrator shall keep a log of all attempted and completed calls to

and from Class Members who submitted opt-outs, including the time(s) and date(s) of the calls to

and from such Class Members, the result of each call (e.g., left voicemail, talked to the person),

whether the person was referred to Class Counsel for further information, and whether the person

specified that he or she wanted to withdraw his or her opt-out.

6. If the opt-out form does not include a telephone number for the Class Member, or the

Class Member has not returned the Settlement Administrator’s calls (made pursuant to Paragraph

3, above), then the Settlement Administrator shall send by U.S. mail (and, if the Class Member

has included an e-mail address in his or her opt-out, by e-mail) a letter conforming to Exhibit B

attached hereto. The Settlement Administrator shall keep a log of such letters sent and of written

and/or oral responses to such letters.

7. For any Class Member who indicates orally, but not in writing, that he or she wishes

to withdraw his or her opt-out, the Settlement Administrator shall send to that person by U.S.

mail (and, if the Class Member has included an e-mail address in his or her opt-out, by e-mail), a

letter in the form of Exhibit C hereto confirming that the Class Member has elected to withdraw

the opt-out.

Case 3:12-cv-00944-JST Document 207 Filed 08/08/16 Page 4 of 8
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Exhibit A: Script for Telephone Calls

My name is _____________________ and I work for the neutral Settlement

Administrator appointed by the United States District Court in the case involving your retiree

medical benefits from Contra Costa County.

We received a document from you in which you expressed your desire to opt out of the

proposed settlement of the case. Because you received a mailing from AFSCME Retiree

Chapter 57 that contained what the judge has found to be false and misleading information, I am

calling to follow up on your opt-out. The court has had a corrective notice sent to you. We

mailed that notice on August 8, 2016. Did you receive that corrective notice? [If the Class

Member is unsure because a number of notices and letters have been sent to class members, the

Settlement Administrator shall reference some of the specific language of the Corrective Notice

and distinguish it from the original Notice from the Court, the letter sent by an AFSCME retiree

group, and the mailing from the Retiree Support Group, as necessary.]

If the Class Member indicates that he or she did receive it, then proceed as follows: Have

you read it?

If the Class Member states that he or she has received and read it, then continue

as follows: After reading it, is it still your desire to opt out of the settlement?

If the answer is “yes”, then continue as follows: We will retain your optout and file it with the Court.

If the answer is “no”, then continue as follows: We will withdraw your

opt-out and send you confirmation in writing.

If the Class Member states that he or she has not read it, then continue as follows:

The Court recommends that you read it before finally deciding whether you want

to keep your opt-out on record. Do you want to do that and call us back?

If the answer is “yes”, then continue as follows: Thank you. Here is our

telephone number. Please call us back at your earliest convenience.

If the answer is “no,” then continue as follows: Do you want to stay with

your decision to opt out of the settlement?

If the answer is “yes: Thank you. We will make sure to forward

your opt-out to the Court.

If the answer is “no”, then continue as follows: We will withdraw

your opt-out and send you confirmation in writing.

Case 3:12-cv-00944-JST Document 207 Filed 08/08/16 Page 5 of 8
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If the Class Member indicates that he or she did not receive it, then proceed as follows:

The Court believes that it is in your interest to read the Corrective Notice it has issued.

Do you want us to re-send that notice to you?

If the answer is “yes”, then obtain the correct address and, if possible, an e-mail

address from the Class Member and state: We will send the Court’s corrective

notice to you right away. Please call us after you have received it and let us know

if you still want to opt out of the settlement. [Settlement Administrator to follow

up by telephone if does not hear back from Class Member].

If the answer is “no”, then ask the Class Member: Do you want to stay with your

decision to opt out of the settlement.

If the answer is “yes,” then state: We will make sure to forward your optout to the Court.

If the answer is “no”, then continue as follows: We will withdraw your

opt-out and send you confirmation in writing.

Case 3:12-cv-00944-JST Document 207 Filed 08/08/16 Page 6 of 8
Exhibit B: Letter to Certain Class Members

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS TO RETIREE MEDICAL BENEFITS

Dear «FirstName» «LastName»:

We are the neutral Settlement Administrator appointed by the United States District

Court in the case involving your retiree medical benefits from Contra Costa County. That case is

Retiree Support Group v. Contra Costa County, No. 12-cv-00944-JST (United States District

Court, Northern District of California).

We received a document from you in which you expressed your desire to opt out of the

proposed settlement of the case. Because you received a mailing from AFSCME Retiree

Chapter 57 that contained what the judge has found to be false and misleading information, we

are writing to follow up on your opt-out.

At the court’s direction, we recently mailed to you a corrective notice about the proposed

settlement of the case. That corrective notice informed you that the AFSCME Retiree Group 57

mailing contained what a federal judge has determined was false and misleading information.

(The AFSCME Retiree Group 57 mailing was on its letterhead. The Court’s corrective notice

says “UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT” at the top and is entitled “CORRECTIVE

NOTICE REGARDING CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT.”)

We mailed the corrective notice to you on August 8, 2016. Because you sent in your optout before or shortly after we sent the corrective notice to you, we are writing in order to find out

whether you want to reconsider your decision to opt out now that you should have received the

corrective notice.

Please contact us immediately if either of the following two things is the case:

1. You received the court’s corrective notice and want to withdraw your opt-out; or

2. You did not receive or are not sure whether you received the court’s corrective

notice.

If you do not contact us by the close of business on September 6, 2016, your opt-out will

be forwarded to the Court and you will not receive the benefits of the proposed settlement if the

Court approves it.

You can contact us in any of the following ways:

Retiree Support Group of Contra Costa County v. Contra Costa County

c/o Simpluris, Inc.

P.O. Box 26170

Santa Ana, CA 92799

Toll Free Telephone: (888) 369-6079

Case 3:12-cv-00944-JST Document 207 Filed 08/08/16 Page 7 of 8
Exhibit C: Letter to Class Members Confirming Opt-out Withdrawals

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS TO RETIREE MEDICAL BENEFITS

Dear «FirstName» «LastName»:

We are the neutral Settlement Administrator appointed by the United States District

Court in the case involving your retiree medical benefits from Contra Costa County. That case is

Retiree Support Group v. Contra Costa County, No. 12-cv-00944-JST (United States District

Court, Northern District of California).

We are writing in order to confirm our telephone conversation of ______________, 2016

in which you informed us that you wish to withdraw the opt-out that you had previously sent to

us regarding the settlement of that lawsuit. If we have misunderstood and you do want to opt

out of the proposed settlement, please inform us as soon as possible.

You can contact us in any of the following ways:

Retiree Support Group of Contra Costa County v. Contra Costa County

c/o Simpluris, Inc.

P.O. Box 26170

Santa Ana, CA 92799

Toll Free Telephone: (888) 369-6079

If we understood you correctly and you do want us to withdraw your opt-out, you

do not need to do anything further.

Case 3:12-cv-00944-JST Document 207 Filed 08/08/16 Page 8 of 8