Opinion ID: 735522
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Carl Roba

Text: 41 Carl Roba was a broker with PSI who purchased partnerships from the firm during the period of his employment. After he was fired, he filed an arbitration proceeding against PSI alleging wrongful termination and interference with contract, relating to his sale of partnerships. 42 Roba's notice of the class action was misaddressed, but he received it anyway. Even so, he believed that the settlement would only foreclose claims for partnership losses, which he was not asserting, and would not affect his arbitration, which was concerned only with Roba's employment claims. He did not timely opt out. 43 Roba, along with other PSI brokers (considered individually below) contended in a joint motion that the class representation was inadequate as to their employment claims, because none of the named plaintiffs were brokers having employment claims; consequently, they argue that their claims were bargained away without compensation. At the January 18 hearing, the district court ruled that the adequacy or inadequacy of the class representatives and class counsel was an issue for the fairness hearing, and was not an issue that bears on the motion to extend the opt out date. 44 The denial of Roba's motion was not an abuse of discretion. The notice expressly stated that the release was very broad, including any claims in connection with or which arise out of or relate in any way to the allegations, transactions, facts, matters or occurrences, representations or omissions involved, set forth or referred to in the Consolidated Complaint, or which relate in any way to the marketing, purchase, sale or holding of ... any of the Partnerships during the Class Period, and that anyone who had purchased partnerships should consult an attorney. As it happens, many brokers who were pursuing employment claims did opt out, precisely to avoid the ramifications of the broad release.