Wayne S. Kreger, Brian Hern, Christine Mangoian, Leslie McCaw Plaintiffs
v.
Pets of Bel Air Corp., et al., Defendant
Case No: BC382948
Judge: John P. Shook
Pets of Bel Air customers have sued Pets of Bel Air ("POBA") claiming that the Defendant's representations regarding the breeding, health and pedigree of puppies sold at POBA are false and misleading advertising. The customers also contend that POBA's advertisement stating that POBA does not use "puppy mills" is false and misleading. The Court has decided that the lawsuit may proceed as a class action on behalf of customers that purchased from POBA a puppy for personal use and not for resale from December 28, 2003 through October 7, 2008. POBA denies the allegations in the lawsuit and maintains that it has no liability. The Court has not yet decided whether POBA did anything wrong. There is no money or benefits available now, and no guarantee there will be. However, your legal rights are affected, and you have a choice to make now:
Stay in the lawsuit. Await the outcome. Give up the right to sue separately.
By doing nothing, you keep open the possibility of getting money or benefits that may come from a trial or settlement. But, you give up any right to sue POBA separately about the same legal claims in this lawsuit.
Get out of this lawsuit. Get no benefit from it. Keep the right to sue separately.
If you ask to be excluded and money or benefits are later awarded, you won’t share in those. But, you keep any rights to sue POBA separately about the same legal claims in the lawsuit.
Your rights are explained in this notice. To ask to be excluded, you must act by July 27, 2009.
Lawyers must prove the claims against POBA. If you do not get out of this lawsuit and if money or other benefits are obtained from POBA, they will either be provided to you automatically or you will be notified about how to ask for a share. Any questions, read on.
POBA's records show that you purchased a puppy at some time between December 28, 2003 through October 7, 2008. This notice explains that the Court has allowed or "certified" this lawsuit to go forward as a class action that may affect you. You have legal rights and options that you may exercise before the Court decides this case. Judge John P. Shook of the Los Angeles Superior Court, California, is overseeing this class action. The lawsuit is known as Wayne S. Kreger, Brian Hearn, Christine Mangoian, Leslie McCaw v. Pets of Bel Air Corp., Case Number BC382948.
This lawsuit is about whether POBA misrepresented the breeding, health, and pedigree of the puppies sold in its shop.
This lawsuit is about whether POBA misrepresented the breeding, health, and pedigree of the puppies sold in its shop.
In a class action lawsuit, one or more people called "Class Representatives" (in this case Christine Mangoian and Leslie McCaw) sued on behalf of other people who have similar claims. The people together are a "Class" or "Class Members." The people who sued - and all the Class Members like them - are called the Plaintiffs. The company they sued (in this case POBA) is called the Defendant. One court resolves the issues for everyone in the Class - except for those people who choose to exclude themselves from the class.
The Court decided that this lawsuit can be a class action and move towards a trial as to claims for false and misleading advertising and violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act ("CLRA") because they meet the requirements of California Code of Civil Procedure §382 and Civil Code §1781, which governs class actions in California courts.
In the lawsuit, the Plaintiffs say that Defendant's representations regarding the breeding, health and pedigree of puppies sold at POBA are false and misleading. Furthermore, Plaintiffs say that Defendants' puppies are supplied by puppy mills and that Defendant knew or should have known this fact. Plaintiffs also claim that Defendant sells puppies that Defendant knew or should have known were sick when sold.
POBA denies it did anything wrong. POBA say that the puppies are from USDA licensed breeders and are not sick when sold. POBA contends that it does not use "puppy mills."
The court has not decided whether Plaintiffs or POBA is correct. By establishing the Class and issuing this Notice, the Court is not suggesting whether the Plaintiffs will win or lose this case. The Plaintiffs must prove their claims to the Court at a later date.
Plaintiffs are asking POBA to stop selling puppies from puppy mills and for restitution, and actual and punitive damages. In addition, for members of the SubClass of purchasers of a sick puppy, Plaintiffs ask for reimbursement for reasonable veterinary fees for diagnosis and treating the dog in an amount not to exceed 150 percent of the original purchase price of the dog, plus sales tax on the original purchase price of the dog.
No money or benefits are available now because the Court has not yet decided whether POBA did anything wrong, and the two sides have not settled the case. There is no guarantee that money or benefits ever will be obtained. If they are, they will be sent to you automatically or you will be notified about how to ask for a share.
There is one class and one "subclass." The Class includes all individuals residing in California who purchased a puppy from POBA during the time period between December 28, 2003 through October 7, 2008. Excluded from the Class are Defendant's officers, directors and employees, and any individual who received remuneration from the Defendants to act as an endorser of POBA.
The SubClass also includes all individuals residing in California who purchased a POBA puppy for personal use and not for resale during the time period December 28, 2003 through the October 7, 2008, that was sick within 15 days of taking physical possession of the puppy from defendant POBA or within one year after the purchaser has taken physical possession of the dog after the sale, the dog has a congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects the health of the dog, or that requires, or is likely in the future to require, hospitalization or nonelective surgical procedures. Excluded from the Class are Defendant’s officers, directors and employees, and any individual who received remuneration from the Defendants to act as an endorser of POBA.
You were identified as a possible member of the Class by POBA after it reviewed its sales records.
If your address changes and you wish to make sure to receive your share of any money or benefits recovered by this lawsuit, you should notify the Settlement Administrator by writing to:
Pets of Bel Air Class Action
Milstein, Adelman & Kreger, LLP
2800 Donald Douglas Loop North
Santa Monica, CA 90405
You have to decide whether to stay in the Class or ask to be excluded and you must decide now.
You don't have to do anything now if you want to keep the possibility of getting money or benefits from this lawsuit. By doing nothing you are staying in the Class. If you stay in and the Plaintiffs obtain money or benefits, either as a result of a summary judgment or a trial or a settlement, the money or benefits will either be automatically sent to you or you will be notified about how to apply for a share. Keep in mind that if you do nothing now, regardless of whether the Plaintiffs win or lose this case, you will not be able to sue POBA in any other lawsuit about the same legal claims that are the subject of this lawsuit. You will be legally bound by all of the orders the Court issues and any judgment the Court enters in this class action. You will never be required to pay any money as a result of participation in this lawsuit.
You would ask to exclude or remove yourself from the Class- sometimes called "opting out" of the Class- if you prefer to pursue your own individual lawsuit against POBA or if you prefer not to participate in any lawsuit at all. If you exclude yourself you will not be legally bound by the Court's orders and judgment in this class action. This means you won't get any money or benefit from the lawsuit, even if the Plaintiffs obtain them for the Class. If you start your own lawsuit against POBA after you exclude yourself, you will have to hire and pay our own lawyer for that lawsuit, and you will have to prove your claims. If you exclude yourself so you can start your own lawsuit against POBA, you should talk to your own lawyer soon, because there may be a time limit on how long you have to file your suit.
If you wish to exclude yourself from the Class, you must send a written request for exclusion to this address: Pets of Bel Air Class Action, 2800 Donald Douglas Loop North, Santa Monica, CA 90405. This written request can be sent by letter or postcard, and it must be postmarked by no later than July 27, 2009. The letter or postcard must clearly state your full name and address and clearly state that you wish to be excluded from the Class in the case ofWayne S. Kreger, Brian Hearn, Christine Mangoian, Leslie McCaw v. Pets of Bel Air Corp.
After deciding that they are qualified to do so, the Court has appointed the law firm of Milstein, Adelman & Kreger to represent you and all Class Members. This law firm is called "Class Counsel." They are experienced in handling similar class action cases.
No. You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf. But, if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak for you, you can hire your own lawyer. If you do, you will have to pay that lawyer yourself.
If Class Counsel gets money or benefits for the Class, they may ask the Court for fees and expenses. You won’t have to pay these fees and expenses. If the Court grants Class Counsel’s request, the fees and expenses would be either deducted from any money obtained for the Class or paid separately by POBA.
As long as the case isn’t resolved by a settlement, Class Counsel will have to prove the Plaintiffs' claims via summary judgment or at a trial. In addition, either side losing before the court will have the right to appeal that decision to a higher court. As a result, it could take a long time before this case is finally decided. There is no guarantee that the Plaintiffs will get any money or benefits for the Class.
You will not need to attend any trial. Class Counsel will present the case for Plaintiffs and POBA will present its defenses. You or your own lawyer will be welcome to attend at your own expense.
Again, there is no guarantee that you will get any money or benefits as a result of this case. If the plaintiffs obtain money or benefits as a result of summary judgment or trial or settlement, your money or benefits will either be automatically sent to you or you will be notified about how to get your share. There is no way to know how long this will take. In order to make sure that you receive any money or benefits that may result from this case, you should notify the parties if the address on this notice is not correct or if your address changes in the future. You may notify the parties of an address change by sending written notice to:
Pets of Bel Air Class Action
Milstein, Adelman & Kreger, LLP
2800 Donald Douglas Loop North
Santa Monica, CA 90405
You may also obtain further information by calling 1-888-835-8055 or by email:wkreger@maklawyers.com