Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_09-cv-04114/USCOURTS-cand-3_09-cv-04114-7/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 28:1331 Fed. Question: Employment Discrimination

---

United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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

28

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

VIRGINIA KAUFFMAN, JUDY CHANG

and ROSE PACHECO on behalf of

themselves and all others similarly situated,

Plaintiffs,

 v.

BANK OF AMERICA N.A., and DOES 1-

50 inclusive,

Defendants. /

No. C 09-04114 WHA

DISCOVERY ORDER

This discovery order elaborates on the ruling made yesterday at the discovery conference. 

It may be true that the bank had a written policy instructing employees on how to make overtime

requests and it may be true that plaintiffs neglected to make any such requests. But that does not

bar plaintiffs from taking discovery to show that the unwritten policy was to fire those who did

request overtime and thereby discourage such requests or to show that other written materials

circulated within management substantially modified the written policy flourished about by

counsel at the conference. (It is not clear whether the policy has ever been produced under Rule

34.) Therefore, the Court believes it is only fair to give plaintiffs the opportunity to take the

depositions of the bank management at each branch who plaintiffs believed implemented the

complained-of policy and thereby have an opportunity to establish a class-wide method of proof,

which could be quite important at the class certification stage.

Case 3:09-cv-04114-WHA Document 34 Filed 02/10/10 Page 1 of 2
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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

28

2

Pursuant to Rule 23(a)(2), class certification requires a finding that “there are questions of

law or fact which are common to the class.” At the threshold, finding commonality requires a

common method of proving that the bank violated the overtime laws as to each putative class

member in the first place. Without a common method of proof it would be necessary to have a

trial-within-a-trial as to each putative class member, which would be prohibitively timeconsuming and difficult. See Castaneda v. Burger King Corp., 2009 WL 3151168 at 11 (N.D.

Cal., 2009). The depositions ordered may develop evidence of a class-wide method of proof.

By the same token, the Court is concerned as to why plaintiffs failed to put in for overtime

since the whole case is about failure to pay overtime. How could the bank know what to add to

the paychecks if the employees failed to put in for it? Bank lawyers should depose all plaintiffs

and get to the bottom of this. The testimony could also have an impact on class certification,

perhaps demonstrating that individual circumstances varied from plaintiff to plaintiff.

All depositions shall be no more than half-day depositions without prejudice to taking

more of the same deponent after class certification is ruled on and without prejudice to other

forms of discovery in parallel. The half-day depositions shall be completed by MARCH 12.

Counsel shall send up an agreed-on schedule by FEBRUARY 16 AT NOON, failing which the Court

shall set the dates.

The deadline for moving for class certification is hereby moved six weeks to JUNE 10,

2010.

The Belaire-West notice must be sent out by FEBRUARY 22 at the bank’s expense, it being

a procedure not required by Rule 23 and one desired only by the bank. The form of notice must

be agreed-on and submitted for the Court’s approval by FEBRUARY 18, 2010. By FEBRUARY 18,

plaintiffs’ counsel must advise the bank and the Court as to 25 branches to which it shall be sent.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: February 10, 2010. WILLIAM ALSUP

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Case 3:09-cv-04114-WHA Document 34 Filed 02/10/10 Page 2 of 2