Opinion
20-cv-03527-EMC
09-06-2023
SIDNEY NAIMAN, Plaintiff, v. MERCHANTS BANCARD NETWORK, INC., Defendant.
ORDER RE SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEFING
Docket No. 42
EDWARD M. CHEN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
The parties have filed a stipulation of dismissal in this putative class action. No class has been certified in the case. Under the stipulation, Plaintiff will dismiss his individual claims with prejudice and the claims of the putative class without prejudice.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 23(e) requires the Court to review and approve a proposed voluntary dismissal, settlement, or other compromise of a certified class's claims. The Ninth Circuit has held that Rule 23(e) also applies to settlements before certification, but in a much lighter form that does not entail “the kind of substantive oversight required when reviewing a settlement binding upon the class.” Diaz v. Trust Territory of Pac. Islands, 876 F.2d 1401, 1408 (9th Cir. 1989). Although there has been “some uncertainty” about whether this holding applies in the wake of the 2003 amendments to Rule 23(e), courts in this district continue to follow Diaz to evaluate the proposed settlement and dismissal of putative class claims.Scott v. Comcast Cable Communs. Mgmt., LLC, No. 16-cv-06869-EMC, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6914, at *1-2 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 16, 2018).
The Court orders the parties to file supplemental briefing and/or evidence regarding the Diaz factors. The supplemental briefing shall include a description of all publicity concerning this case and its filing. A joint supplemental brief is strongly preferred. If the parties take divergent positions on any particular factor, they may so note and then each state its respective position.
The supplemental brief and/or evidence shall be filed within a week of the date of this order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.