Opinion
Civil Action 21-cv-01812-CMA-STV
04-25-2022
ROKE VELASCO, Plaintiff, v. JASON'S PREMIER PUMPING SERVICES, LLC, Defendant.
ORDER APPROVING JOINT STIPULATION OF PROPOSED NOTICE AND CONSENT FORM
CHRISTINE M. ARGUELLO UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff Roke Velasco's and Defendant Jason's Premier Pumping Service, LLC's (collectively, the “Parties”) Joint Stipulation of Proposed Notice and Consent Forms (the “Stipulation, ” Doc. # 30). For the following reasons, the revised proposed Notice and Consent Forms are approved, with modifications.
On February 15, 2022, the Parties filed a Joint Stipulation for Conditional Certification and Notice to Putative Collective Members. (Doc. # 27.) On March 2, 2022, the Parties filed a Joint Request for Approval of Proposed Notice, with competing versions of the proposed notice for the Court's consideration (Doc. # 28) (collectively the “Joint Motions”). The Joint Motions were granted in part and denied in part. (Doc. # 29.) As set forth in the Court's Order (Doc. # 29), the Court directed the parties to make certain changes to the proposed notice and consent forms.
On April 15, 2022, the Parties filed the Stipulation with revised proposed Notice and Consent Forms. (Doc. # 30-1.) The Court need only review the revised proposed Notice and Consent Forms to ensure that they are fair and accurate and that no alterations are necessary. See Smith v. Pizza Hut, Inc., No. 09-CV-01632-CMA-BNB, 2012 WL 1414325, at *7 (D. Colo. Apr. 21, 2012) (quoting Lewis v. ASAP Land Exp., Inc., No. 07-CV-2226, 2008 WL 2152049, at *2 (D. Kan. May 21, 2008) (unpublished)) (“[u]nder the FLSA, the Court has the power and duty to ensure that the notice is fair and accurate, but it should not alter plaintiff's proposed notice unless such alteration is necessary.”).
Having reviewed the Parties' proposed revised Notice and Consent Forms, the Court approves the proposed forms, with minor alterations:
• First, on page 2 of the revised Proposed notice (Doc. # 30-1 at 2), in the second paragraph of ¶ 4, the Parties proposed the following language: “If you choose to hire your own attorney, you will be responsible for all costs, expenses, and attorney's fees incurred in pursuing my claim separately.” The word “my” appears to be a Scrivener's error that may confuse recipients of the Notice. The word “my” should be changed to “your.”
• Additionally, the font size in this paragraph is inconsistent. The font should be modified to be consistent throughout the paragraph so that it does not confuse recipients of the proposed Notice.After the Parties make these minor changes, the Court need not review another version of the proposed Notice and Consent Forms.
Accordingly, for the foregoing reason and the reasons set forth in the Court's prior Order (Doc. # 29), it is ORDERED that the Parties' Joint Stipulation of Proposed Notice and Consent Forms is APPROVED, with the minor modifications identified above.