Free Order - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

In re Allstate Insurance Co. Fair Labor Standards Act Litigation

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MDL No. 1541 (2:03-md-1541) ALL CASES

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE RE VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL The Court having granted summary judgment on August 7, 2007 (doc. #188) against all of the named plaintiffs in the Gaglione action (the "Summary Judgment Order"), one of the four consolidated actions in this case, and having held a status conference with the parties regarding the impact of the Summary Judgment Order on all of the remaining named and opt-in plaintiffs in this case on September 12, 2007, and having granted Defendants' Motion to Determine Basis on Which Plaintiffs Should be Permitted to Dismiss Claims ("Order re Dismissal") on July 15, 2008 (doc. #213), by ruling (1) that while the Summary Judgment Order only dismissed the claims of the named Gaglione plaintiffs, the consequences of the Order are more far-reaching given that the order resolved some significant substantive issues that affect the entirety of this action, and (2) that any named or opt-in plaintiff (collectively "plaintiffs") wishing to voluntarily

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dismiss his or her claims shall do so only upon the conditions set forth by the Court in that Order, IT IS ORDERED that the named plaintiffs in the four consolidated cases shall jointly provide all remaining plaintiffs with written notice ("Notice") no later than August 25, 2008, advising them as follows: (1) that, in accordance with the Court's Order re Dismissal, each remaining plaintiff may choose to voluntarily dismiss his or her claim pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 41(a)(2) with the condition that he or she shall be barred from asserting as a member of a collective action any claim for overtime pay he or she might have against the defendants under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") if that FLSA claim can be litigated as a part of this MDL action, and that the defendants have agreed not to seek to recover costs against any plaintiff who so elects to dismiss his or her claim; and (2) that any plaintiff who chooses to remain in this MDL action may do so and the Court will thereafter determine, pursuant to an appropriate motion, whether the Summary Judgment Order should be applied against any or all such plaintiffs, and that the defendants, should they prevail, intend to seek to recover all of their costs included in all of the consolidated classes from any such plaintiffs. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Notice, including the return postcard included therein, shall be substantially in the form attached as the exhibit to the
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parties' notice of proposed form of order to Show Cause re Voluntary Dismissal (doc. #214). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the deadline for the plaintiffs to return the postcard to the plaintiffs' counsel shall be 60 days from the date the Notice is mailed to the plaintiffs, and that the parties shall file a joint report with the Court no later than three weeks following the expiration of the 60-day return period regarding the responses to the Notice. The parties shall include in their joint report a proposed case management schedule for resolving the claims of any plaintiff who submits a response stating a desire to continue the litigation of this action. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the plaintiffs' counsel may include with the Notice whatever additional legal advice they believe is appropriate to advise the remaining plaintiffs regarding the choices available to them and the potential rights and obligations that accompany those choices. DATED this 11th day of August, 2008.

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