Medtronic

MEMORANDUM

Jonathan Sultan filed a labor law class action suit in which he is the sole proposed representative on behalf of a putative class against Medtronic, Inc., his former employer. The district court denied class certification and dismissed some of Sultan’s overtime claims. Shortly thereafter, Sultan entered into a Fed.R.Civ.P. Rule 68 Judgment with Medtronic — effectively settling the case. Although Sultan now says he intended this settlement agreement to cover only his remaining individual claims, the Order of Judgment, to which Sultan agreed, reads: “[T]he total amount paid by defendant is paid on account of any liability claimed in this action, including all costs of suit, interest, and attorney’s fees otherwise recoverable in this action by plaintiff. ...”

If a putative class representative wishes to settle his own claims while preserving his right to appeal the denial of class certification, it is incumbent upon him to include language to that effect in the settlement. See Narouz v. Charter Comm’ns, LLC, 591 F.3d 1261, 1264 (9th Cir.2010) (“In order to retain such a ‘personal stake,’ a class representative cannot release any and all interests he or she may have had…