Thornton v. Commissioner of Social Security, No. 2:2018cv01409 - Document 85 (W.D. Wash. 2020)
Court Description: ORDER granting the parties' 83 Joint Motion to Vacate Discovery Schedule. Any remaining discovery deadlines and the briefing schedule set forth in the Court's May 18, 2020 Order are hereby VACATED. Signed by Judge James L. Robart. (PM)
Download PDF
<![CDATA[
Thornton v. Commissioner of Social Security Doc. 85 Case Case2:18-cv-01409-JLR 2:18-cv-01409-JLR Document Document85 83 Filed Filed07/09/20 06/29/20 Page Page11of of10 4 1 U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE JAMES L. ROBART U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE J. RICHARD CREATURA 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON SEATTLE DIVISION 9 10 HELEN THORNTON, on behalf of herself and 11 all others similarly situated, and NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO PRESERVE SOCIAL 12 SECURITY AND MEDICARE, 13 Plaintiffs, 14 vs. 15 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 16 17 Civil No. 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC NOTICE OF JOINT STIPULATION REGARDING NUMEROSITY, AND JOINT MOTION TO VACATE DISCOVERY SCHEDULE Note on Motion Calendar: June 29, 2020 Defendant. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 NOTICE OF JOINT STIPULATION REGARDING NUMEROSITY, AND JOINT MOTION TO VACATE DISCOVERY SCHEDULE 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 1100 L Street NW Washington, DC 20005 Telephone: (202) 305-8576 Dockets.Justia.com Case Case2:18-cv-01409-JLR 2:18-cv-01409-JLR Document Document85 83 Filed Filed07/09/20 06/29/20 Page Page22of of10 4 1 The parties, having conferred, (1) jointly notify the Court that the parties have entered into a 2 stipulation (attached to this filing as Exhibit 1) that will resolve the question of numerosity in this 3 litigation, and (2) jointly request that any remaining discovery-related deadlines and the briefing 4 schedule set forth in the Court’s May 18, 2020 Order be vacated, because they are unnecessary in light 5 of the parties’ stipulation. As good cause for this request, the parties jointly offer the following: 6 1. On May 18, 2020, the Court authorized discovery regarding the number of individuals 7 that met the following proposed class definition, from the Report and Recommendation issued in this 8 matter: “All persons nationwide who presented claims for social security survivor’s benefits based on 9 the work history of their same-sex partner and who were barred from satisfying the marriage 10 requirements for such benefits because of applicable laws that prohibited same-sex marriage. This 11 class is intended to exclude any putative class members in Ely v. Saul, No. 4:18-cv-00557-BPV (D. 12 Ariz.).” ECF No. 82. 13 2. On May 29, Plaintiffs served discovery requests: eleven interrogatories, six requests 14 for admission, and fifteen requests for the production of documents. 15 3. As reflected in the attached stipulation, although Defendant represents that identifying 16 the precise number of putative class members is difficult (among other reasons, due to limitations on 17 access to some of Defendant’s records and files because of the ongoing pandemic), after a reasonably 18 diligent inquiry, Defendant now believes that that number likely exceeds 150, based on the records 19 that have been reviewed. Accordingly, Defendant no longer disputes that the putative class (as defined 20 above and in the Report & Recommendation) is sufficiently numerous to satisfy Rule 23(a)(1). See, 21 e.g., Sullivan v. City of Berkeley, 328 F.R.D. 352, 355-56 (N.D. Cal. 2018) (“The numerosity requirement 22 is not tied to any fixed numerical threshold, but courts generally find the numerosity requirement 23 satisfied when a class includes at least forty members.”). 24 4. Defendant continues to argue that certification of any class in this matter is 25 inappropriate, for the reasons stated in Defendant’s prior filings, with which Plaintiffs disagree. 26 27 Page 1 NOTICE OF JOINT STIPULATION REGARDING NUMEROSITY, AND JOINT MOTION TO VACATE DISCOVERY SCHEDULE 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 1100 L Street NW Washington, DC 20005 Telephone: (202) 305-8576 Case Case2:18-cv-01409-JLR 2:18-cv-01409-JLR Document Document85 83 Filed Filed07/09/20 06/29/20 Page Page33of of10 4 1 5. As a result of the parties’ stipulation and Defendant’s concession, the parties 2 respectfully request that the Court vacate any remaining discovery deadlines and the briefing schedule 3 set forth in the Court’s May 18, 2020 Order. 4 Dated: June 29, 2020 5 JOSEPH H. HUNT Assistant Attorney General 6 BRAD P. ROSENBERG Assistant Branch Director 7 8 /s/ Stephen M. Pezzi STEPHEN M. PEZZI Trial Attorney United States Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 1100 L Street NW Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 305-8576 Fax: (202) 616-8470 Email: stephen.pezzi@usdoj.gov 9 10 11 12 13 14 Attorneys for Defendant 15 16 /s/ Linda R. Larson Linda R. Larson (WSBA No. 9171) NOSSAMAN LLP 601 Union Street, Suite 5305 Seattle, WA 98101 Email: llarson@nossaman.com Telephone: 206-395-7630 17 18 19 20 Robert D. Thornton (admitted pro hac vice) NOSSAMAN LLP 18101 Von Karman Avenue, Ste. 1800 Irvine, CA 92612 Email: rthornton@nossaman.com Telephone: 949-833-7800 21 22 23 24 Peter C. Renn (admitted pro hac vice) LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND, INC. 25 26 27 Respectfully submitted, Page 2 NOTICE OF JOINT STIPULATION REGARDING NUMEROSITY, AND JOINT MOTION TO VACATE DISCOVERY SCHEDULE 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 1100 L Street NW Washington, DC 20005 Telephone: (202) 305-8576 Case Case2:18-cv-01409-JLR 2:18-cv-01409-JLR Document Document85 83 Filed Filed07/09/20 06/29/20 Page Page44of of10 4 1 4221 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 280 Los Angeles, CA 90010 Email: prenn@lambdalegal.org Telephone: 213-382-7600 2 3 Karen L. Loewy (admitted pro hac vice) LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND, INC. 120 Wall Street, 19th Floor New York, NY 10005 Email: kloewy@lambdalegal.org Telephone: 212-809-8585 4 5 6 7 8 Tara L. Borelli (WSBA No. 36759) LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND, INC. 730 Peachtree Street NE, Ste. 640 Atlanta, GA 30308 Email: tborelli@lambdalegal.org Telephone: 404-897-1880 9 10 11 12 Counsel for Plaintiffs Helen Josephine Thornton and National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Page 3 NOTICE OF JOINT STIPULATION REGARDING NUMEROSITY, AND JOINT MOTION TO VACATE DISCOVERY SCHEDULE 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 1100 L Street NW Washington, DC 20005 Telephone: (202) 305-8576 Case Case 2:18-cv-01409-JLR 2:18-cv-01409-JLR Document Document 83-1 85 Filed Filed07/09/20 06/29/20 Page Page5 1ofof104 1 U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE JAMES L. ROBART U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE J. RICHARD CREATURA 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON SEATTLE DIVISION 9 10 HELEN THORNTON, on behalf of herself and 11 all others similarly situated, and NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO PRESERVE SOCIAL 12 SECURITY AND MEDICARE, 13 Plaintiffs, 14 vs. 15 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 16 17 Civil No. 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC JOINT STIPULATION REGARDING NUMEROSITY Defendant. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 JOINT STIPULATION REGARDING NUMEROSITY 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 1100 L Street NW Washington, DC 20005 Telephone: (202) 305-8576 Case Case 2:18-cv-01409-JLR 2:18-cv-01409-JLR Document Document 83-1 85 Filed Filed07/09/20 06/29/20 Page Page6 2ofof104 1 The parties HEREBY STIPULATE as follows: 2 1. On May 18, 2020, the Court authorized discovery regarding the number of individuals 3 that met the following proposed class definition, from the Report and Recommendation issued in this 4 matter: “All persons nationwide who presented claims for social security survivor’s benefits based on 5 the work history of their same-sex partner and who were barred from satisfying the marriage 6 requirements for such benefits because of applicable laws that prohibited same-sex marriage. This 7 class is intended to exclude any putative class members in Ely v. Saul, No. 4:18-cv-00557-BPV (D. 8 Ariz.).” ECF No. 82. 9 2. Defendant has represented that, although identifying the precise number of putative 10 class members is difficult (among other reasons, due to limitations on access to some of Defendant’s 11 records and files because of the ongoing pandemic), after a reasonably diligent inquiry, that number 12 likely exceeds 150, based on the records that have been reviewed. Plaintiffs do not dispute that the 13 number of putative class members exceeds 150 individuals. 14 3. The parties therefore agree, for purposes of this litigation, that the putative class (as 15 defined above and in the Report & Recommendation) is sufficiently numerous to satisfy Rule 23(a)(1). 16 4. Defendant continues to argue that certification of any class in this matter is 17 inappropriate, for the reasons stated in Defendant’s prior filings, with which Plaintiffs disagree. 18 5. Defendant’s deadline to respond to Plaintiffs’ discovery requests is tolled pending the 19 Court’s consideration of the parties’ joint motion to vacate the discovery schedule in this matter, to 20 be filed concurrently with this stipulation. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Page 1 JOINT STIPULATION REGARDING NUMEROSITY 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 1100 L Street NW Washington, DC 20005 Telephone: (202) 305-8576 Case Case 2:18-cv-01409-JLR 2:18-cv-01409-JLR Document Document 83-1 85 Filed Filed07/09/20 06/29/20 Page Page7 3ofof104 1 Dated: June 29, 2020 2 Respectfully submitted, JOSEPH H. HUNT Assistant Attorney General 3 BRAD P. ROSENBERG Assistant Branch Director 4 5 /s/ Stephen M. Pezzi STEPHEN M. PEZZI Trial Attorney United States Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 1100 L Street NW Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 305-8576 Fax: (202) 616-8470 Email: stephen.pezzi@usdoj.gov 6 7 8 9 10 11 Attorneys for Defendant 12 13 /s/ Linda R. Larson Linda R. Larson (WSBA No. 9171) NOSSAMAN LLP 601 Union Street, Suite 5305 Seattle, WA 98101 Email: llarson@nossaman.com Telephone: 206-395-7630 14 15 16 17 Robert D. Thornton (admitted pro hac vice) NOSSAMAN LLP 18101 Von Karman Avenue, Ste. 1800 Irvine, CA 92612 Email: rthornton@nossaman.com Telephone: 949-833-7800 18 19 20 21 Peter C. Renn (admitted pro hac vice) LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND, INC. 4221 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 280 Los Angeles, CA 90010 Email: prenn@lambdalegal.org Telephone: 213-382-7600 22 23 24 25 26 27 Page 2 Karen L. Loewy (admitted pro hac vice) LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND, INC. JOINT STIPULATION REGARDING NUMEROSITY 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 1100 L Street NW Washington, DC 20005 Telephone: (202) 305-8576 Case Case 2:18-cv-01409-JLR 2:18-cv-01409-JLR Document Document 83-1 85 Filed Filed07/09/20 06/29/20 Page Page8 4ofof104 1 120 Wall Street, 19th Floor New York, NY 10005 Email: kloewy@lambdalegal.org Telephone: 212-809-8585 2 3 Tara L. Borelli (WSBA No. 36759) LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND, INC. 730 Peachtree Street NE, Ste. 640 Atlanta, GA 30308 Email: tborelli@lambdalegal.org Telephone: 404-897-1880 4 5 6 7 8 Counsel for Plaintiffs Helen Josephine Thornton and National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Page 3 JOINT STIPULATION REGARDING NUMEROSITY 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 1100 L Street NW Washington, DC 20005 Telephone: (202) 305-8576 Case Case 2:18-cv-01409-JLR 2:18-cv-01409-JLR Document Document 83-2 85 Filed Filed07/09/20 06/29/20 Page Page9 1ofof103 1 U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE JAMES L. ROBART U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE J. RICHARD CREATURA 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON SEATTLE DIVISION 9 10 HELEN THORNTON, on behalf of herself and 11 all others similarly situated, and NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO PRESERVE SOCIAL 12 SECURITY AND MEDICARE, 13 Plaintiffs, 14 vs. 15 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 16 17 Defendant. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 ORDER 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC Civil No. 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC ORDER Case Case 2:18-cv-01409-JLR 2:18-cv-01409-JLR Document Document 85 83-2Filed Filed 07/09/20 06/29/20Page Page 102ofof10 3 1 Upon consideration of the parties’ stipulation regarding numerosity, the parties’ joint motion 2 to vacate the discovery schedule, and the entire record herein, it is hereby 3 ORDERED that the parties’ joint motion is GRANTED; and it is further 4 ORDERED that any remaining discovery deadlines and the briefing schedule set forth in 5 the Court’s May 18, 2020 Order are hereby VACATED. 6 SO ORDERED. 7 8 DATED this ______ 2020. 9th day of ___________, July 9 A 10 _______________________________________ JAMES L. ROBART United States District Judge 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 ORDER 2:18-cv-01409-JLR-JRC
]]>
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You
should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
