Sherman v. Mushrooms

Background

The court considered three related proposed class actions against Monterey Mushrooms, LLC: Angela Smith’s case, No. 25-cv-08213-BLF; Gregory Hanley’s case, No. 25-cv-08237-BLF; and Clara Sherman’s case, No. 25-cv-08407-BLF. The plaintiffs jointly moved to consolidate the cases and appoint interim co-lead class counsel.

The complaints concerned an August 2025 data breach. Each plaintiff alleged that the breach compromised class members’ sensitive personally identifiable information and that Monterey failed to protect that information adequately. The cases asserted overlapping claims, including negligence and breach of implied contract, and sought similar declaratory and injunctive relief. Although the cases also included claims that did not overlap, the court found that they involved the same subject matter and alleged wrongful conduct and defined substantially similar classes.

Consolidation

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a)(2) permits consolidation when cases involve a common question of law or fact. The court found that the three cases presented similar factual and legal issues and that the same discovery and class-certification issues would apply to all of them. It concluded that consolidation would conserve judicial resources and reduce the time and cost of litigating the cases separately.

Interim Co-Lead Class Counsel

The plaintiffs asked the court to appoint Scott Edelsberg of Edelsberg Law and Scott Edward Cole of Cole & Van Note as interim co-lead class counsel. Interim class counsel is appointed to act for a proposed class before the court decides whether to certify the class. The court considered the factors in Rule 23(g), including counsel’s investigation and work on the claims, class-action and complex-litigation experience, knowledge of the applicable law, and ability to commit resources. The court found the appointment appropriate.

Order

The court granted the motion, consolidated the three cases for all purposes, and designated Smith as the consolidated action. Future filings must be made in No. 25-cv-08213-BLF, and the clerk was ordered to administratively close Nos. 25-cv-08237-BLF and 25-cv-08407-BLF.

The court ordered counsel for Smith, Hanley, and Sherman to file a consolidated class-action complaint by November 24, 2025. It appointed Edelsberg and Cole as interim co-lead class counsel and adopted the proposed responsibilities for that role, including coordinating discovery and other pretrial work, communicating with the court and defense counsel, conducting settlement negotiations, coordinating plaintiffs’ counsel, and managing litigation deadlines and related procedures. The order also required additional plaintiffs’ counsel to work only at the direction of interim co-lead class counsel, subject to the terms stated by the court.

The order addressed case management and counsel appointment; it did not decide whether Monterey was liable for the alleged data breach or whether a class should ultimately be certified.