Baranco v. Ford Motor Company
- Edward Chen
- 3:17-cv-03580
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Baranco v. Ford Motor Company, Judge Chen requested publicity information before deciding whether to approve the parties’ proposed dismissal with prejudice.
The parties, absent plaintiffs, and people who may be members of the putative class were affected. The parties were required to provide information about publicity and communications concerning the case.
What happened
In Baranco v. Ford Motor Company, the parties asked the court to approve their agreement to voluntarily dismiss the putative class action with prejudice. The court had not certified a class.
The court explained that federal Rule 23(e) requires court approval before a class action is dismissed or settled, including when a class has not been certified. The rule protects people who may be members of the proposed class but are not parties actively litigating the case.
Judge Chen ordered the parties to file, by September 25, 2019, information about the case’s publicity and what had been shared with the public and proposed class members. The order did not yet approve or reject the proposed dismissal.
The detailed version
- Baranco v. Ford Motor Company · No. 3:17-cv-03580
- Edward Chen
- Sept. 13, 2019
Background
The plaintiffs and Ford Motor Company submitted a stipulation—an agreement between the parties—for voluntary dismissal of the putative class action with prejudice. Before approving that stipulation, the court sought additional information.
Court’s analysis
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e) requires court approval before a class action may be dismissed or compromised, and it requires notice to class members as directed by the court. The opinion explains that this requirement protects absent plaintiffs—people who may be members of the proposed class but are not participating directly in the litigation. The requirement applies even though the proposed class had not been certified.
The court also stated that the requested information was needed to protect absent plaintiffs from misplaced reliance on the lawsuit and from possible effects on the time limits for bringing claims.
Order
The court ordered the parties to file, by September 25, 2019, a description of the scope of publicity about the case and the nature of information shared with the public and putative class members. Judge Edward M. Chen did not approve or reject the stipulation in this order; the order requested information before the court would decide whether to approve it.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.