Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_14-cv-01137/USCOURTS-caed-1_14-cv-01137-9/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 790
Nature of Suit: Other Labor Litigation
Cause of Action: 28:1331 Fed. Question: Fair Labor Standards

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Case No. 1:14-CV-01137-LJO-EPG

STIPULATION ORDER RE: MODIFICATION OF PRELIMINARY APPROVAL 

ORDER TO AUTHORIZE MAILING OF NOTICE TO OMITTED CLASS MEMBERS

R. DUANE WESTRUP (State Bar No. 58610)

jveloff@westrupassociates.com

CAT N. BULAON (State Bar No. 206612)

cbulaon@westrupassociates.com

WESTRUP & ASSOCIATES

444 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 1614

Long Beach, California 90802-4524

Telephone: (562) 432-2551

Facsimile: (562) 435-4856

Attorneys for Plaintiff JOSE RODRIGUEZ

DOUGLAS J. FARMER, CA Bar No. 139646

douglas.farmer@ogletreedeakins.com

VICTORIA L. TALLMAN, CA Bar No. 273252

victoria.tallman@ogletreedeakins.com

OGLETREE, DEAKINS, NASH, SMOAK & STEWART, P.C.

Steuart Tower, Suite 1300

One Market Plaza

San Francisco, CA 94105

Telephone: 415.442.4810

Facsimile: 415.442.4870

Attorneys for Defendant

KRAFT HEINZ FOODS COMPANY,

formerly known as KRAFT FOODS GROUP, INC.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

FRESNO DIVISION

JOSE RODRIGUEZ, on behalf of himself and 

all others similarly situated,

Plaintiffs,

vs.

KRAFT FOODS GROUP, INC., a Virginia 

corporation; and DOES 1 through 100, inclusive,

Defendants.

Case No. 1:14-CV-01137-LJO-EPG

STIPULATION AND ORDER RE: 

MODIFICATION OF PRELIMINARY

APPROVAL ORDER TO AUTHORIZE 

MAILING OF NOTICE TO OMITTED 

CLASS MEMBERS

Action Filed: April 17, 2014

Trial Date: None Set

Case 1:14-cv-01137-LJO-EPG Document 55 Filed 06/16/16 Page 1 of 6
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1 Case No. 1:14-CV-01137-LJO-EPG

STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE: MODIFICATION OF PRELIMINARY APPROVAL 

ORDER TO AUTHORIZE MAILING OF NOTICE TO OMITTED CLASS MEMBERS

Plaintiff Jose Rodriguez and Defendant Kraft Heinz Foods Company, (formerly known as 

Kraft Foods Group, Inc.) (collectively, the “Parties”), by and through their undersigned counsel, 

respectfully submit this Stipulation regarding modification of Preliminary Approval Order to 

authorize mailing of Notice to omitted class members. The Parties jointly and respectfully request 

that the Court grant the relief sought by this Stipulation.

WHEREAS, on March 3, 2016, the Court issued an order granting Preliminary Approval of 

the class action settlement, approved the language to be included in the Class Notice, and set 

various dates, including those for mailing the Notice and holding a Final Approval Hearing;

WHEREAS, the Parties agreed that the class consists of all persons who are or were 

employed by Kraft Heinz in California as hourly paid production employees at any time between 

June 5, 2010, through the date of preliminary approval. (Declaration of R. Duane Westrup filed in 

support of Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement, ¶ 4; Stipulation 

of Settlement and Release, ¶ 18 (Dkt # 35-2));

WHEREAS Preliminary Approval of the $1,750,000 gross settlement amount was based on 

initial estimates of 1,239 Class Members and 615,535 work shifts for those 1,239 Class Members

at the time of Settlement, with a proportionate increase in work shifts through March 3, 2016, the 

date Preliminary Approval was granted;

WHEREAS, on April 12, 2016, the Class Notice was timely mailed to 1,005 of the 1,239 

class members addressed in the Preliminary Approval order, with the remainder inadvertently 

omitted from mailing;

WHEREAS, following the Class Notice mailing, counsel became aware that 241 current or 

former employees meeting the definition for Class Members, inadvertently did not receive the 

Class Notice packet mailing for this lawsuit. 

WHEREAS, the Parties now propose mailing the Class Notice packet to this group of 241

individuals (the “Subclass”) omitted from the April 12, 2016 Notice mailing; 

WHEREAS, this brings the total number of Class Members to 1,246, seven greater than the 

number initially estimated by the Parties in their motion for Preliminary Approval;

///

Case 1:14-cv-01137-LJO-EPG Document 55 Filed 06/16/16 Page 2 of 6
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2 Case No. 1:14-CV-01137-LJO-EPG

STIPULATION AND ORDER RE: MODIFICATION OF PRELIMINARY APPROVAL 

ORDER TO AUTHORIZE MAILING OF NOTICE TO OMITTED CLASS MEMBERS

WHEREAS, the matter is currently set for Final Fairness Approval Hearing on July 8, 

2016;

WHEREAS, the Parties propose that the Class Notice be mailed to the Subclass without 

continuing the currently calendared Final Approval Hearing, or delaying the schedule for 

distribution of settlement funds to Class Members previously sent the Notice;

WHEREAS, the Parties propose that the Final Approval Hearing remain set for July 8, 

2016 as to those 1005 Class Members timely mailed the Class Notice, but that a further Final 

Approval Hearing be set for the Subclass on August 26, 2016 to allow the Subclass the same 

objection, opt-out, and dispute periods as outlined in the initial Class Notice (see Subclass Notice, 

Exhibit 2, attached), or 

WHEREAS, the Parties alternatively propose that the Class Notice to be mailed to the 

Subclass, be identical to the Notice mailed to Class Members, except that it include a two-week 

period for objections and disputes, and a three-week period for opt-outs (see Subclass Notice, 

Exhibit 1, attached); 

NOW THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED by the Parties that 

the current deadlines in this matter should be continued, as follows:

(1) The Parties shall mail the Subclass Notice on June 15, 2016.

(2) The Dispute Deadline for the Subclass shall be set for July 30, 2016 (45 calendar days 

after mailing); 

(3) The Objection Deadline for the Subclass shall be set for July 27, 2016 (30 calendar days 

prior to Final Approval Hearing); 

(4) The Opt-Out Deadline for the Subclass shall be set for August 14, 2016 (60 calendar 

days after mailing); and,

(5) The date for Final Fairness Approval Hearing shall be set for August 26, 2016.

ALTERNATIVELY:

(1) The Parties shall mail the Subclass Notice on June 15, 2016.

(2) The Dispute Deadline for the Subclass shall be set for June 29, 2016 (two-weeks after 

mailing); 

Case 1:14-cv-01137-LJO-EPG Document 55 Filed 06/16/16 Page 3 of 6
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3 Case No. 1:14-CV-01137-LJO-EPG

STIPULATION AND ORDER RE: MODIFICATION OF PRELIMINARY APPROVAL 

ORDER TO AUTHORIZE MAILING OF NOTICE TO OMITTED CLASS MEMBERS

(3) The Objection Deadline for the Subclass shall be set for June 29, 2016 (two-weeks after 

mailing); 

(4) The Opt-Out Deadline for the Subclass should be set for July 6, 2016 (three weeks after 

mailing); and,

(5) The date for Final Fairness Approval Hearing shall remain set for July 8, 2016.

DATED: June 14, 2016 WESTRUP & ASSOCIATES

By: /s/ Cat N. Bulaon (as authorized on June 14, 2016)

R. DUANE WESTRUP

CAT N. BULAON

Attorneys for Plaintiff JOSE RODRIGUEZ

DATED: June 14, 2016 OGLETREE, DEAKINS, NASH, SMOAK & 

STEWART, P.C.

By: /s/ Victoria L. Tallman

DOUGLAS J. FARMER

VICTORIA L. TALLMAN

Attorneys for Defendant

KRAFT HEINZ FOODS COMPANY,

formerly known as KRAFT FOODS GROUP, INC.

Case 1:14-cv-01137-LJO-EPG Document 55 Filed 06/16/16 Page 4 of 6
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4 Case No. 1:14-CV-01137-LJO-EPG

STIPULATION AND ORDER RE: MODIFICATION OF PRELIMINARY APPROVAL 

ORDER TO AUTHORIZE MAILING OF NOTICE TO OMITTED CLASS MEMBERS

ORDER

The parties’ stipulation is partially adopted by the Court. The Court is amenable to holding 

the final fairness approval hearing of the class settlement on July 8, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. as 

scheduled for the 1005 class members who were already served with the notices as set forth in this 

Court’s order issued on December 15, 2015. (Doc. 40). The Court authorizes sending the notices 

to the 241 class members who were not served with the rest of the class, however, the Court does 

not authorize creating a new subclass for these individuals. Instead, these 241 class members shall 

be sent a revised notice pursuant to the schedule below and a supplemental final approval hearing 

will be held for these class members only on September 2, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. 

The Court will not issue its recommendations regarding the final approval of the entire class 

settlement until after the hearing on September 2, 2016.

Exhibit 2 shall be mailed to the 241 affected class members who did not receive the initial 

notice. Accordingly, the following schedule applies to these class members:

(1) The Parties shall mail the revised Notice on or about June 15, 2016;

(2) The Dispute Deadline is set for July 30, 2016; 

(3) The Objection Deadline is set for July 27, 2016; 

(4) The Opt-Out Deadline is set for August 14, 2016; 

(5) The Final Fairness Approval Hearing date for this group of class members will be held 

on September 2, 2016 at 10:00 a.m., instead of August 26, 2106 as proposed.

If the parties believe a different schedule would be appropriate in light of the directives 

listed above, including only holding one final approval hearing on September 2, 2016 for all class 

members rather than the two hearings, counsel shall contact Courtroom Deputy Amanda Martinez 

or Michelle Rooney to set up a telephonic status conference so the parties can address their 

concerns with the Court.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: June 15, 2016 /s/

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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5 Case No. 1:14-CV-01137-LJO-EPG

STIPULATION AND ORDER RE: MODIFICATION OF PRELIMINARY APPROVAL 

ORDER TO AUTHORIZE MAILING OF NOTICE TO OMITTED CLASS MEMBERS

Case 1:14-cv-01137-LJO-EPG Document 55 Filed 06/16/16 Page 6 of 6