Preview
1 KINGSLEY & KINGSLEY, APC
ERIC B. KINGSLEY, Esq. (SBN 185123)
2 eric@kingsleykingsley.com
KELSEY M. SZAMET, Esq. (SBN 260264)
3 kelsey@kingsleykingsley.com
LIANE KATZENSTEIN LY, Esq., (SBN 259230)
4 liane@kingsleykingsley.com
16133 Ventura Blvd., Suite 1200
5 Encino, CA 91436
Tel: (818) 990-8300, Fax (818) 990-2903
6
Attorneys for Plaintiff and the Proposed Class
7
FISHER & PHILLIPS LLP
8 JASON GELLER, Esq., (SBN 168149)
jgeller@fisherphillips.com
9
NATHAN LOW, Esq., (SBN 299587)
10 nlow@fisherphillips.com
ABBY HARRINGTON, Esq. (SBN 335055)
11 aharrington@fisherphillips.com
One Embarcadero Center, Suite 2050
12 San Francisco, CA 94111
Telephone: (415) 490-9000
13
14 Attorneys for Defendants
NRC Environmental Services, Inc. (erroneously sued as US Ecology Illinois, Inc., US Ecology
15 Vernon, Inc., US Ecology, Inc.)
16
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
17
FOR THE COUNTY OF ALAMEDA
18
ROBERT DELL, an individual, on behalf of CASE NO. RG21114398
19 himself and others similarly situated
20 [Case Assigned for All Purposes to Hon. Evelio
PLAINTIFF,
Grillo in Dept. 21]
21 v.
JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE
22 US ECOLOGY ILLINOIS, INC.; US REPORT
ECOLOGY VERNON, INC.; US
23 ECOLOGY, INC.; and DOES 1 thru 50, Date: December 1, 2021
inclusive, Time: 9:00 AM
24 Dept.: 21
DEFENDANTS.
25
Trial Date: None Set
26 Complaint Filed: September 30, 2021
27
28
1
JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT
FP 42285768.1
1 Having met and conferred, Plaintiff Robert Dell (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant NRC
2 Environmental Services, Inc., (erroneously sued as US Ecology Illinois, Inc.; US Ecology Vernon,
3 Inc.; US Ecology, Inc.) (“Defendant”) (Plaintiff and Defendant collectively, the “Parties”) submit
4 this Joint Initial Status Conference Report pursuant to the Court’s Notice of Hearing and in
5 advance of the December 1, 2021 Case Management Conference hearing.
6 A. PARTIES AND COUNSEL
7 Named Plaintiff is represented by:
8 Kingsley & Kingsley, APC
9 Eric B. Kingsley
eric@kingsleykingsley.com
10 Kelsey M. Szamet
kelsey@kingsleykingsley.com
11 Liane Katzenstein Ly
liane@kingsleykingsley.com
12
16133 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 1200
13 Encino, CA 91436
Telephone: (818) 990-8300
14
Defendants are represented by:
15 Fisher & Phillips LLP
Jason Geller
16
jgeller@fisherphillips.com
17 Nathan Low
nlow@fisherphillips.com
18 Abby Harrington
aharrington@fisherphillips.com
19 One Embarcadero Center, Suite 2050
San Francisco, CA 94111
20
Telephone: (415) 490-9000
21 B. POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL PARTIES
22 Plaintiff does not intend to add any additional class representatives or name any additional
23 defendants at this time. Defendants do not intend to file a cross-complaint at this time.
24 C. IMPROPERLY NAMED DEFENDANTS
25 Plaintiff believes he has properly named the Defendants. Defendant contends that Plaintiff
26 was not an employee of any of the named entities in the Complaint. Rather, Plaintiff was an
27 employee of NRC Environmental Services, Inc., at all times during the relevant period.
28 D. ADEQUACY OF PROPOSED CLASS REPRESENTATIVE
2
JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT
FP 42285768.1
1 Plaintiff believes that the Named Plaintiff is an adequate class representative. Defendant
2 contends that the Named Plaintiff is not an adequate class representative.
3 E. ESTIMATED CLASS SIZE
4 F. Litigation is at its initial stages and the Parties have not yet exchanged formal
5 or informal discovery regarding putative class member information and/or data. OTHER
6 ACTIONS WITH OVERLAPPING CLASS DEFINITIONS
7 The Parties are not aware of any related actions or actions with overlapping class
8 definitions.
9 G. POTENTIALLY RELEVANT ARBITRATION AND/OR CLASS ACTION
10 WAIVER CLAUSES
11 Defendant contends that the majority of class members acknowledged and agreed to valid
12 and enforceable arbitration and class action waiver clauses.
13 H. POTENTIAL EARLY CRUCIAL MOTIONS
14 Plaintiff does not intend to file any early motions (other than his motion for class
15 certification in due course). Defendant intends to further meet and confer with Plaintiff regarding
16 the proper defendant employer entity, so as to forego the need to file an early dispositive motion
17 to dismiss the currently named defendant entities. In the unlikely chance that the Parties are unable
18 to resolve the issue, Defendant intends to file a motion seeking dismissal of the currently named
19 defendants.
20 I. CLASS CONTACT INFORMATION
21 Plaintiff does need to obtain the class list. Plaintiff intends to serve discovery requesting
22 the class list within the next several weeks. Plaintiff does not feel that a notice procedure is
23 necessary; but Plaintiff is willing to enter into a protective order to alleviate any privacy concerns
24 Defendants might have. If Defendants insist upon sending out notice to the putative class, Plaintiff
25 is willing to share the cost of that notice equally and believes that the notice should be mailed out
26 by a third-party administrator.
27
28
3
JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT
FP 42285768.1
1 Defendant contends that such class contact information and any other personal identifying
2 information would violate constitutionally protected third-party rights to privacy of the putative
3 class members.
4 J. PROTECTIVE ORDERS
5 The Parties are willing to enter into the LASC Model Protective Order available online
6 should it be necessary.
7 K. DISCOVERY
8 Plaintiff intends to serve special interrogatories and requests for production of documents
9 relevant to class certification in the next several weeks. This discovery will seek the identity of
10 the class members, time and pay records for the class members, and the applicable wage and hour
11 policies and procedures. Plaintiff also intends to depose various persons most knowledgeable of
12 Defendants regarding the claims alleged in Plaintiff’s complaint. Plaintiff does not think that a
13 sample of time and pay records will be necessary given the relatively small class size.
14 Defendant contends that discovery should be bifurcated to encompass only class-based
15 discovery for purposes of Plaintiff’s class certification motion and prior to the court’s certification
16 of the class, if appropriate. Likewise, Defendant asserts the constitutionally protected third-party
17 privacy rights for all discovery related to putative class member contact information and personal
18 identifying information. Defendant intends to service written discovery, including interrogatories
19 and requests for production. Defendant also intends to depose Plaintiff and other relevant witnesses
20 identified through the course of litigation.
21 L. INSURANCE COVERAGE
22 The Parties are not aware of any applicable insurance coverages.
23 M. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
24 Plaintiff is willing to engage in private mediation at any time. Defendant is willing to
25 consider engaging in private mediation.
26 N. TIMELINE FOR CASE MANAGEMENT
27 1. Next Status Conference: 120-160 days
28 2. ADR: within 8-10 months
4
JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT
FP 42285768.1
1 3. Motion for Class Certification: December 2022
2 O. ELECTRONIC SERVICE OF PAPERS
3 The Parties agree upon the use of Case Anywhere for electronic service and filing. For
4 purposes of effectuating proper e-service, the following recipients must be served for each Party
5 respectively:
6 Plaintiff:
Eric Kingsley
7 eric@kingsleykingsley.com
8 Kelsey M. Szamet
kelsey@kingsleykingsley.com
9 service@kingsleykingsley.com
10 Defendant:
Jason Geller
11 jgeller@fisherphillips.com
Nathan Low
12
nlow@fisherphillips.com
13 Abby Harrington
aharrington@fisherphillips.com
14 Lisa Hamann
lhamann@fisherphillips.com
15 Natale Larios
nlarios@fisherphillips.com
16
17
Respectfully submitted,
18
19
DATED: November 16, 2021 KINGSLEY & KINGSLEY, APC
20
21
By:
22 Eric B. Kingsley
Kelsey M. Szamet
23 Attorneys for Plaintiff ROBERT DELL and the
proposed class
24
25
26
27
28
5
JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT
FP 42285768.1
1 DATED: November 16, 2021 FISHER & PHILLIPS LLP
2 By: /s/ Nathan Low
3 Jason Geller
Nathan Low
4 Abby Harrington
Attorneys for Defendants US ECOLOGY
5 ILLINOIS, INC.; US ECOLOGY VERNON, INC.;
US ECOLOGY, INC.
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
6
JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT
FP 42285768.1
1 (PROOF OF SERVICE)
[CCP 1013(a)(3)]
2 STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
3
I am employed in the County of Los Angeles, State of California. I am over the age of 18
4 years and not a party to the within action. My business address is 16133 Ventura Boulevard, Suite
1200, Encino, California 91436.
5
On November 16, 2021, I served all interested parties in this action the following
6
documents described as: JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT by placing a
7 true copy thereof enclosed in a sealed envelope addressed as follows:
8 Jason Geller
Nathan Low
9
Abby Harrington
10 Fisher & Phillips LLP
One Embarcadero Center, Suite 2050
11 San Francisco, CA 94111
Telephone: (415) 490-9000
12
nlow@fisherphillips.com
13 jgeller@fisherphillips.com
aharrington@fisherphillips.com
14 lhamann@fisherphillips.com
nlarios@fisherphillips.com
15
16 [ ] (BY MAIL) I am "readily familiar" with the firm's practice of collection and processing
correspondence for mailing. Under that practice it would be deposited with U.S. postal
17 service on that same day with postage fully prepaid at Encino, California in the ordinary
course of business. I am aware that on motion of the party served, service is presumed
18 invalid if postal cancellation date or postage meter date is more than one day after date of
19 deposit for mailing in affidavit.
20 [XX] (BY ELECTRONIC MAIL TRANSMISSION): I caused the document to be send to the
persons at the e-mail address(es) listed on the attached service list. I did not receive, within
21 a reasonable time after the transmission, any electronic message or other indication that the
22 transmission was unsuccessful. A pdf copy of which was sent via email to the above email
address(es).
23
[XX] (STATE) I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that
24 the above is true and correct.
25
Executed on November 16, 2021, at Woodland Hills, California.
26
27
28 Michelle A. Tanzer
1
PROOF OF SERVICE
Preview
1 KINGSLEY & KINGSLEY, APC ERIC B. KINGSLEY, Esq. (SBN 185123) 2 eric@kingsleykingsley.com KELSEY M. SZAMET, Esq. (SBN 260264) 3 kelsey@kingsleykingsley.com LIANE KATZENSTEIN LY, Esq., (SBN 259230) 4 liane@kingsleykingsley.com 16133 Ventura Blvd., Suite 1200 5 Encino, CA 91436 Tel: (818) 990-8300, Fax (818) 990-2903 6 Attorneys for Plaintiff and the Proposed Class 7 FISHER & PHILLIPS LLP 8 JASON GELLER, Esq., (SBN 168149) jgeller@fisherphillips.com 9 NATHAN LOW, Esq., (SBN 299587) 10 nlow@fisherphillips.com ABBY HARRINGTON, Esq. (SBN 335055) 11 aharrington@fisherphillips.com One Embarcadero Center, Suite 2050 12 San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: (415) 490-9000 13 14 Attorneys for Defendants NRC Environmental Services, Inc. (erroneously sued as US Ecology Illinois, Inc., US Ecology 15 Vernon, Inc., US Ecology, Inc.) 16 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 17 FOR THE COUNTY OF ALAMEDA 18 ROBERT DELL, an individual, on behalf of CASE NO. RG21114398 19 himself and others similarly situated 20 [Case Assigned for All Purposes to Hon. Evelio PLAINTIFF, Grillo in Dept. 21] 21 v. JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE 22 US ECOLOGY ILLINOIS, INC.; US REPORT ECOLOGY VERNON, INC.; US 23 ECOLOGY, INC.; and DOES 1 thru 50, Date: December 1, 2021 inclusive, Time: 9:00 AM 24 Dept.: 21 DEFENDANTS. 25 Trial Date: None Set 26 Complaint Filed: September 30, 2021 27 28 1 JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT FP 42285768.1 1 Having met and conferred, Plaintiff Robert Dell (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant NRC 2 Environmental Services, Inc., (erroneously sued as US Ecology Illinois, Inc.; US Ecology Vernon, 3 Inc.; US Ecology, Inc.) (“Defendant”) (Plaintiff and Defendant collectively, the “Parties”) submit 4 this Joint Initial Status Conference Report pursuant to the Court’s Notice of Hearing and in 5 advance of the December 1, 2021 Case Management Conference hearing. 6 A. PARTIES AND COUNSEL 7 Named Plaintiff is represented by: 8 Kingsley & Kingsley, APC 9 Eric B. Kingsley eric@kingsleykingsley.com 10 Kelsey M. Szamet kelsey@kingsleykingsley.com 11 Liane Katzenstein Ly liane@kingsleykingsley.com 12 16133 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 1200 13 Encino, CA 91436 Telephone: (818) 990-8300 14 Defendants are represented by: 15 Fisher & Phillips LLP Jason Geller 16 jgeller@fisherphillips.com 17 Nathan Low nlow@fisherphillips.com 18 Abby Harrington aharrington@fisherphillips.com 19 One Embarcadero Center, Suite 2050 San Francisco, CA 94111 20 Telephone: (415) 490-9000 21 B. POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL PARTIES 22 Plaintiff does not intend to add any additional class representatives or name any additional 23 defendants at this time. Defendants do not intend to file a cross-complaint at this time. 24 C. IMPROPERLY NAMED DEFENDANTS 25 Plaintiff believes he has properly named the Defendants. Defendant contends that Plaintiff 26 was not an employee of any of the named entities in the Complaint. Rather, Plaintiff was an 27 employee of NRC Environmental Services, Inc., at all times during the relevant period. 28 D. ADEQUACY OF PROPOSED CLASS REPRESENTATIVE 2 JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT FP 42285768.1 1 Plaintiff believes that the Named Plaintiff is an adequate class representative. Defendant 2 contends that the Named Plaintiff is not an adequate class representative. 3 E. ESTIMATED CLASS SIZE 4 F. Litigation is at its initial stages and the Parties have not yet exchanged formal 5 or informal discovery regarding putative class member information and/or data. OTHER 6 ACTIONS WITH OVERLAPPING CLASS DEFINITIONS 7 The Parties are not aware of any related actions or actions with overlapping class 8 definitions. 9 G. POTENTIALLY RELEVANT ARBITRATION AND/OR CLASS ACTION 10 WAIVER CLAUSES 11 Defendant contends that the majority of class members acknowledged and agreed to valid 12 and enforceable arbitration and class action waiver clauses. 13 H. POTENTIAL EARLY CRUCIAL MOTIONS 14 Plaintiff does not intend to file any early motions (other than his motion for class 15 certification in due course). Defendant intends to further meet and confer with Plaintiff regarding 16 the proper defendant employer entity, so as to forego the need to file an early dispositive motion 17 to dismiss the currently named defendant entities. In the unlikely chance that the Parties are unable 18 to resolve the issue, Defendant intends to file a motion seeking dismissal of the currently named 19 defendants. 20 I. CLASS CONTACT INFORMATION 21 Plaintiff does need to obtain the class list. Plaintiff intends to serve discovery requesting 22 the class list within the next several weeks. Plaintiff does not feel that a notice procedure is 23 necessary; but Plaintiff is willing to enter into a protective order to alleviate any privacy concerns 24 Defendants might have. If Defendants insist upon sending out notice to the putative class, Plaintiff 25 is willing to share the cost of that notice equally and believes that the notice should be mailed out 26 by a third-party administrator. 27 28 3 JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT FP 42285768.1 1 Defendant contends that such class contact information and any other personal identifying 2 information would violate constitutionally protected third-party rights to privacy of the putative 3 class members. 4 J. PROTECTIVE ORDERS 5 The Parties are willing to enter into the LASC Model Protective Order available online 6 should it be necessary. 7 K. DISCOVERY 8 Plaintiff intends to serve special interrogatories and requests for production of documents 9 relevant to class certification in the next several weeks. This discovery will seek the identity of 10 the class members, time and pay records for the class members, and the applicable wage and hour 11 policies and procedures. Plaintiff also intends to depose various persons most knowledgeable of 12 Defendants regarding the claims alleged in Plaintiff’s complaint. Plaintiff does not think that a 13 sample of time and pay records will be necessary given the relatively small class size. 14 Defendant contends that discovery should be bifurcated to encompass only class-based 15 discovery for purposes of Plaintiff’s class certification motion and prior to the court’s certification 16 of the class, if appropriate. Likewise, Defendant asserts the constitutionally protected third-party 17 privacy rights for all discovery related to putative class member contact information and personal 18 identifying information. Defendant intends to service written discovery, including interrogatories 19 and requests for production. Defendant also intends to depose Plaintiff and other relevant witnesses 20 identified through the course of litigation. 21 L. INSURANCE COVERAGE 22 The Parties are not aware of any applicable insurance coverages. 23 M. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION 24 Plaintiff is willing to engage in private mediation at any time. Defendant is willing to 25 consider engaging in private mediation. 26 N. TIMELINE FOR CASE MANAGEMENT 27 1. Next Status Conference: 120-160 days 28 2. ADR: within 8-10 months 4 JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT FP 42285768.1 1 3. Motion for Class Certification: December 2022 2 O. ELECTRONIC SERVICE OF PAPERS 3 The Parties agree upon the use of Case Anywhere for electronic service and filing. For 4 purposes of effectuating proper e-service, the following recipients must be served for each Party 5 respectively: 6 Plaintiff: Eric Kingsley 7 eric@kingsleykingsley.com 8 Kelsey M. Szamet kelsey@kingsleykingsley.com 9 service@kingsleykingsley.com 10 Defendant: Jason Geller 11 jgeller@fisherphillips.com Nathan Low 12 nlow@fisherphillips.com 13 Abby Harrington aharrington@fisherphillips.com 14 Lisa Hamann lhamann@fisherphillips.com 15 Natale Larios nlarios@fisherphillips.com 16 17 Respectfully submitted, 18 19 DATED: November 16, 2021 KINGSLEY & KINGSLEY, APC 20 21 By: 22 Eric B. Kingsley Kelsey M. Szamet 23 Attorneys for Plaintiff ROBERT DELL and the proposed class 24 25 26 27 28 5 JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT FP 42285768.1 1 DATED: November 16, 2021 FISHER & PHILLIPS LLP 2 By: /s/ Nathan Low 3 Jason Geller Nathan Low 4 Abby Harrington Attorneys for Defendants US ECOLOGY 5 ILLINOIS, INC.; US ECOLOGY VERNON, INC.; US ECOLOGY, INC. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 6 JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT FP 42285768.1 1 (PROOF OF SERVICE) [CCP 1013(a)(3)] 2 STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES 3 I am employed in the County of Los Angeles, State of California. I am over the age of 18 4 years and not a party to the within action. My business address is 16133 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 1200, Encino, California 91436. 5 On November 16, 2021, I served all interested parties in this action the following 6 documents described as: JOINT INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE REPORT by placing a 7 true copy thereof enclosed in a sealed envelope addressed as follows: 8 Jason Geller Nathan Low 9 Abby Harrington 10 Fisher & Phillips LLP One Embarcadero Center, Suite 2050 11 San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: (415) 490-9000 12 nlow@fisherphillips.com 13 jgeller@fisherphillips.com aharrington@fisherphillips.com 14 lhamann@fisherphillips.com nlarios@fisherphillips.com 15 16 [ ] (BY MAIL) I am "readily familiar" with the firm's practice of collection and processing correspondence for mailing. Under that practice it would be deposited with U.S. postal 17 service on that same day with postage fully prepaid at Encino, California in the ordinary course of business. I am aware that on motion of the party served, service is presumed 18 invalid if postal cancellation date or postage meter date is more than one day after date of 19 deposit for mailing in affidavit. 20 [XX] (BY ELECTRONIC MAIL TRANSMISSION): I caused the document to be send to the persons at the e-mail address(es) listed on the attached service list. I did not receive, within 21 a reasonable time after the transmission, any electronic message or other indication that the 22 transmission was unsuccessful. A pdf copy of which was sent via email to the above email address(es). 23 [XX] (STATE) I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that 24 the above is true and correct. 25 Executed on November 16, 2021, at Woodland Hills, California. 26 27 28 Michelle A. Tanzer 1 PROOF OF SERVICE