Class Action Lawsuit Explained
This site is for informational purposes only
Below are additional facts not covered in the Court Notice
Class Counsel has a $5,500,000.00+ financial interest in court approval
This page consist of several videos to assist you with your decision to Do Nothing, Object, or Opt Out of the settlement.
While many Class Members are Objecting to the new contract, the final decision is yours.
You should view this settlement with your attorney to decide which course of action is best for your business.
POAA believes these informational videos expose some of the most serious problems with the new contract.
Class Action Settlement Explained
Options for Class Members
Timeline
The videos below are a resource to help you and your attorney better understand POAA’s problems with the Proposed Class Settlement.
As the video above explains, the Employee Misclassification Lawsuits were filed first in Massachusetts in 2013. Former and Current Owners in Illinois followed suit, and eventually the class action was filed California. The California federal trial court certified class-action status, and in 2018 Pepperidge Farm appealed the certification ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal. The parties agreed to “stay” (put on hold) the appeal so they could work out a settlement agreement, and this Proposed Class Settlement is the result.
Even though the settlement was not finalized before our Vegas Convention in April 2019, Class Counsel announced to attendees that a settlement was close and that everyone would be happy with it. POAA was NEVER told that a NEW CONTRACT was part of the settlement
After reading the new contract, POAA’s legal committee came to a different conclusion than Class Counsel. Under the new contract, PF will be empowered to continue to violate distributor’s rights, and even expand its predatory practices…..except this time it will be legal and there is nothing owners who accept that new contract will be able to do about it. Forced Arbitration and Class Action waiver provisions will ensure that Pepperidge Farm will never again be subject to government oversight or class action lawsuits!
POAA hired Fox Rothschild to evaluate the new contract, as well as the terms and conditions of the Proposed Class Settlement. During the summer of 2019, Fox Rothschild found several concerning issues…..particularly with the New Contract.
Fox Rothschild is representing Objectors to the new contract provision at a Fairness Hearing set for Monday, February 24, 2020 in the Los Angeles, CA federal courthouse.
The main 20 minute video below is also broken into several short videos that are topic specific. Don’t forget to check out the One Word video which wasn’t part of the 20 minute presentation.
Please share this website and videos, and help POAA raise awareness of the problems with proposed new contract. Objectors need to file by January 3, 2020, and should authorize Fox Rothschild to represent them before the deadline.
Excerpts from full video
How One Word can change a contract
https://youtu.be/yAFhlgKcX0Ahttps://youtu.be/XnSGhajpu-4