Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_07-cv-01895/USCOURTS-caed-2_07-cv-01895-2/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Denise Alberto
Plaintiff
GMRI, Inc.
Defendant
Olive Garden
Defendant

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LEGAL_US_W # 57562124.2 STIPULATION RE STAY OF ACTION 

PENDING EARLY MEDIATION; ORDER 

STEPHEN L. BERRY (SB# 101576) 

stephenberry@paulhastings.com 

PAUL, HASTINGS, JANOFSKY & WALKER LLP 

695 Town Center Drive 

Seventeenth Floor 

Costa Mesa, CA 92626-1924 

Telephone: (714) 683-6200 

Facsimile: (714) 979-1921 

JAN E. EAKINS (SB# 100612) 

janeakins@paulhastings.com 

PAUL, HASTINGS, JANOFSKY & WALKER LLP 

515 South Flower Street 

Twenty-Fifth Floor 

Los Angeles, CA 90071 

Telephone: (213) 683-6000 

Facsimile: (213) 627-0705 

Attorneys for Defendant 

GMRI, INC. dba OLIVE GARDEN 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, SACRAMENTO DIVISION 

DENISE ALBERTO, individually and 

on behalf of all others similarly 

situated, 

Plaintiffs, 

vs. 

GMRI, INC. dba OLIVE GARDEN, 

Defendant. 

CASE NO. 2:07-CV-01895-WBS-DAD 

STIPULATION RE STAY OF 

ACTION PENDING EARLY 

MEDIATION; [PROPOSED] 

ORDER

Plaintiff Denise Alberto (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant GMRI, Inc. 

(“GMRI” or “Defendant”), acting by and through their respective counsel of record, 

enter into this stipulation based on the following facts: 

Case 2:07-cv-01895-WBS-DAD Document 25 Filed 12/14/07 Page 1 of 5
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LEGAL_US_W # 57562124.2 -2- STIPULATION RE STAY OF ACTION 

PENDING EARLY MEDIATION; ORDER 

A. Counsel for the parties have conferred in connection with their 

obligations under Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to consider the 

possibility of an early resolution of this matter and have voluntarily exchanged 

information and documents regarding Plaintiff’s individual claims and Defendant’s 

defenses. 

B. Although GMRI denies the allegations and claims of Plaintiff 

and asserts that this case is not appropriate for class certification, GMRI is 

nonetheless willing to pursue an early resolution of this matter in order to avoid the 

expense and uncertainty of litigation. 

ACCORDINGLY, the parties hereby stipulate as follows: 

1. The parties agree to mediate this matter before David Rotman, 

who is a highly respected mediator with substantial expertise in resolving class 

action matters. The mediation has been scheduled for April 9, 2008, which is Mr. 

Rotman’s first available date. 

2. In order for the parties to evaluate and assess the putative class 

claims prior to the mediation, Defendant will provide Plaintiff with copies of the 

documents and information described below in paragraphs 3 and 4 for a sample of 

approximately 100 randomly selected servers at Olive Garden restaurants in 

California (“Server Sample”). The criteria for the Server Sample will be agreed 

upon by the parties and will include the selection of four servers, all of whom will 

have hire dates in 2006, from each of 28 randomly selected Olive Garden 

restaurants, which represent approximately one half of the Olive Garden restaurants 

operated in California during the relevant time period. Two of the four servers 

from each restaurant will be current employees and two will be former employees. 

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LEGAL_US_W # 57562124.2 -3- STIPULATION RE STAY OF ACTION 

PENDING EARLY MEDIATION; ORDER 

All the servers selected will have at least 3 months service and any server who 

holds or held a non-server position with Olive Garden will be excluded from the 

selected group, even if they otherwise meet the selection criteria. The sample 

restaurants will be selected from a list of California Olive Garden restaurants open 

in 2006 in numerical order by restaurant number, selecting every other location 

starting with the first restaurant on the list. The sample servers then will be 

randomly selected from a list of servers identified by employee identification 

number who meet the selection criteria at each sample restaurant. If no current 

employee who was hired in 2006 meets the required criteria at a particular 

restaurant, a current employee hired in 2007 will be selected from that restaurant 

who otherwise meets the above criteria. 

3. No later than sixty (60) days from the date the Order staying this 

action pending mediation is entered, Defendant will provide the following 

documents for each server in the Server Sample: (1) clock-in/clock-out reports; and 

(2) available server schedules for the time periods worked by the servers in the 

Server Sample at the 28 restaurants. In addition, Defendant will provide 

documentation for the former servers indicating whether each server’s employment 

was voluntarily or involuntarily terminated, the last day worked by the server, the 

termination date of the server, and the date of his/her final paycheck or cash 

payment. 

4. No later than sixty (60) days from the date the Order staying this 

action pending mediation is entered, Defendant also will provide the following 

information to Plaintiff: (1) total number of servers employed at Olive Garden 

restaurants in California from August 3, 2003 to the present; (2) total number of 

weeks worked by this same group; and (3) total number of terminated servers from 

August 3, 2006 to the present. 

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LEGAL_US_W # 57562124.2 -4- STIPULATION RE STAY OF ACTION 

PENDING EARLY MEDIATION; ORDER 

5. The action will be stayed pending the mediation and, other than 

the above obligations to provide documents and information, the parties shall not 

have any other obligations under Rule 26 or pursuant to the Court’s prior Order 

Setting Status/Scheduling Conference dated September 13, 2007, prior to the 

mediation. 

6. The parties request that the Scheduling Conference currently 

scheduled for January 28, 2008, and the hearing on Defendant’s Motions to Dismiss 

and to Strike set for January 7, 2008, be continued pending the mediation and 

rescheduled at the Court’s convenience if a settlement is not reached at the 

mediation. 

7. The parties will report to the Court within fourteen (14) days 

after the mediation to advise the Court if a settlement has been reached. If the 

parties have not reached a settlement at that time, the Court will reschedule the 

Scheduling Conference and the hearing on Defendant’s Motions to Dismiss and to 

Strike. 

Dated: December __, 2007 PAUL, HASTINGS, JANOFSKY & WALKER LLP 

By: /s/ Jan E. Eakins 

JAN E. EAKINS 

Attorneys for Defendant 

GMRI, INC. dba OLIVE GARDEN 

Dated: December __, 2007 WESTRUP KLICK, LLP 

By: /s/ Phillip R. Poliner 

PHILLIP R. POLINER 

Attorneys for Plaintiff 

DENISE ALBERTO on behalf of herself and others 

similarly situated 

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LEGAL_US_W # 57562124.2 -5- STIPULATION RE STAY OF ACTION 

PENDING EARLY MEDIATION; ORDER 

ORDER

1. This case is stayed pending the completion of the mediation 

currently scheduled for April 9, 2008. 

2. The Scheduling Conference currently scheduled for January 28, 

2008 is continued to June 16, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. 

3. Defendant’s Motions to Dismiss and to Strike set for January 7, 

2008 are hereby withdrawn without prejudice, subject to refilling if the case does 

not settle. 

4. Within fourteen (14) days after the mediation is conducted, the 

parties will file a Notice of Settlement or otherwise notify the Court in writing that 

the case has not been settled. 

DATED: December 13, 2007 

 

Case 2:07-cv-01895-WBS-DAD Document 25 Filed 12/14/07 Page 5 of 5