Case 5:21-cv-03577-LHK Document 24 Filed 09/16/21 Page 1 of 6

1 JUSTIN T. BERGER (SBN 250346)

jberger@cpmlegal.com
2 SARVENAZ “NAZY” J. FAHIMI (SBN 226148)
sfahimi@cpmlegal.com
3 KELSEY L. CAMPBELL (SBN 324015)
kcampbell@cpmlegal.com
4 COTCHETT, PITRE & McCARTHY, LLP
San Francisco Airport Office Center
5 840 Malcolm Road
Burlingame, CA 94010
6 Telephone: (650) 697-6000
Facsimile: (650) 697-0577
7
Attorneys for Plaintiff
8

9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

10 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

11 SAN JOSE DIVISION

12

13 MATTHEW AMANS, individually and on Case No. 5:21-CV-03577-LHK

behalf of all similarly situated individuals, Case No. 5:21-CV-03681-LHK
14 Case No. 5:21-CV-05528-LHK
Plaintiff,
15 (Consolidated Per Docket No. 22).
v.
16 JOINT CASE MANAGEMENT
TESLA, INC., a Delaware corporation, STATEMENT
17
Defendant. Date: September 22, 2021
18 Time: 2:00 p.m.
Judge: Hon. Lucy H. Koh
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LAW OFFICES
COTCHETT, PITRE &
MCCARTHY, LLP
JOINT CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT; Case No. 5:21-cv-03577-LHK
 Case 5:21-cv-03577-LHK Document 24 Filed 09/16/21 Page 2 of 6

1 JOINT CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

2 Plaintiffs Matthew Amans (“Amans Plaintiff”), Sol Kim, Aaron Mandell, Alissa Beth Cohen

3 Mandell, Mattias Astrom, Arpan Patel, Anupama Vivek, Jerin Zachariah, and Peter Burns (“Kim

4 Plaintiffs”), and Babak Malek (“Malek Plaintiff”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), and defendant Tesla,

5 Inc. (“Tesla”) (collectively, “Parties”), by and through their respective counsel of record, hereby

6 jointly submit this Case Management Statement pursuant to the Court’s August 12, 2021 Case

7 Management Order (ECF No. 22).1

8 This consolidated action now includes all three putative class actions in the U.S. District

9 Court for the Northern District of California, each alleging that Tesla’s price increase on its solar roof

10 contracts violates California law: Matthew Amans v. Tesla, Inc., Case No. 5:21-cv-03577-LHK

11 (“Amans Action”), Sol Kim et al. v. Tesla, Inc., Case No. 5:21-cv-03681-LHK (“Kim Action”), and

12 Babak Malek v. Tesla, Inc., Case No. 5:21-cv-05528-LHK (“Malek Action”). Amans Plaintiff filed

13 his complaint against Tesla on May 12, 2021. See Amans Action, ECF No. 1. Thereafter, on May 17,

14 2021, Kim Plaintiffs, represented by separate counsel, filed their complaint against Tesla, see Kim

15 Action, ECF. No. 1; and Malek Plaintiff, represented by separate counsel than Amans or Kim

16 Plaintiffs, filed his complaint against Tesla on July 20, 2021, see Malek Action, ECF No. 1. The Kim

17 and Malek Actions have been consolidated under the Amans Action. See Amans Action, ECF Nos.

18 17, 22.

19 I. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND NEXT STEPS

20 Shortly after counsel for Tesla appeared in the Amans and Kim Actions in June 2021 and prior

21 to formal consolidation, counsel for Plaintiffs inquired with counsel for Tesla regarding the potential

22 for early mediation, requested categories of information to facilitate potential settlement discussions,

23 and sent Tesla a list of proposed mediators who could assist with these matters. Tesla declined to

24 commit one way or another to any mediation until the cases were formally consolidated. Based on

25 Plaintiffs’ understanding that Tesla was considering mediation in good faith, Plaintiffs agreed to

26 extend the time for Tesla to file responsive pleadings through August and September while the cases

27 1
The parties were unable to submit this case management statement seven days before the scheduled
28 case management conference due to unanticipated scheduling issues involving Tesla and its outside
♼ counsel.
LAW OFFICES JOINT CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT; Case No. 5:21-cv-03577-LHK 1
COTCHETT, PITRE &
MCCARTHY, LLP
 Case 5:21-cv-03577-LHK Document 24 Filed 09/16/21 Page 3 of 6

1 awaited formal consolidation, leading up to the Initial Case Management Conference. See Amans

2 Action, ECF Nos. 16, 21.

3 On September 13, 2021, counsel for Tesla informed counsel for Plaintiffs that Tesla had

4 recently launched a program for customers who signed Solar Roof contracts before the April 2021

5 price changes to return those customers to their original pricing (if they were subject to a price

6 increase in April 2021). Plaintiffs’ counsel have requested additional details and advised counsel for

7 Tesla that they believe settlement discussions should commence immediately in order to consider,

8 clarify, and formalize certain terms of relief.

9 Based on these developments, the Parties believe discussions over the next 30 days to obtain

10 additional information regarding Tesla’s intended actions may eliminate or narrow some of the issues

11 to be litigated, conserving judicial and party resources. Accordingly, the Parties propose the schedule

12 below that allows for such discussions. Further, the Parties request the opportunity to update the

13 Court in 30 days and propose adjustments to the below schedule as warranted.

14 II. APPOINTMENT OF INTERIM CLASS COUNSEL

15 Plaintiffs’ counsel in all three consolidated actions have met and conferred and agreed to a

16 proposed three-way leadership model, with one representative from each action. Subject to the

17 Court’s approval, Plaintiffs are prepared to submit a stipulation and proposed order appointing

18 interim class counsel forthwith. Tesla has some reservations about Plaintiffs’ proposal and reserves

19 the right to respond or object to Plaintiffs’ proposed stipulation once those details are provided.

20 III. CONSOLIDATED CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT

21 Subject to the Court’s approval, the Parties agree to a filing deadline of November 1, 2021

22 for Plaintiffs’ consolidated class action complaint.

23 IV. BRIEFING SCHEDULE FOR CONSOLIDATED CLASS COMPLAINT

24 Subject to the Court’s approval, the Parties agree on the following briefing and hearing

25 schedule:

26  Deadline to file response to consolidated complaint: November 30, 2021

27  Opposition: January 7, 2021

28  Reply: January 28, 2022

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LAW OFFICES JOINT CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT; Case No. 5:21-cv-03577-LHK 2
COTCHETT, PITRE &
MCCARTHY, LLP
 Case 5:21-cv-03577-LHK Document 24 Filed 09/16/21 Page 4 of 6

1  Hearing: February 11, 2022

3 Respectfully submitted,

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Dated: September 16, 2021 By: /s/ Justin T. Berger
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Justin T. Berger (SBN 250346)
6 jberger@cpmlegal.com
Sarvenaz “Nazy” J. Fahimi (SBN 226148)
7 sfahimi@cpmlegal.com
Kelsey L. Campbell (SBN 324015)
8 kcampbell@cpmlegal.com
COTCHETT, PITRE & McCARTHY, LLP
9 San Francisco Airport Office Center
840 Malcolm Road
10 Burlingame, CA 94010
Telephone: (650) 697-6000
11 Facsimile: (650) 697-0577
12 Attorneys for Malek Plaintiff
13 Dated: September 16, 2021 By: /s/ Lily E. Hough
14 Lily E. Hough (SBN 315277)
lhough@edelson.com
15 Benjamin H. Richman (pro hac vice to be
filed)
16 brichman@edelson.com
Eve-Lynn Rapp (pro hac vice to be filed)
17 erapp@edelson.com
Rafey S. Balabanian (SBN 315962)
18 rbalabanian@edelson.com
EDELSON PC
19 150 California Street, 18th Floor
San Francisco, California 94111
20 Tel: 415.212.9300
Fax: 415.373.9435
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Attorneys for Amans Plaintiff
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Dated: September 16, 2021 By: /s/ Peter A. Muhic
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Peter A. Muhic (pro hac vice to be filed)
24 LeVAN MUHIC STAPLETON LLC
One Liberty Place
25 1650 Market Street, Suite 3600
Philadelphia, PA 19103
26 Telephone: (215) 561-1500
pmuhic@levanmuhic.com
27
Tina Wolfson (SBN 174806)
28 Robert Ahdoot (SBN 172098)
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LAW OFFICES JOINT CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT; Case No. 5:21-cv-03577-LHK 3
COTCHETT, PITRE &
MCCARTHY, LLP
 Case 5:21-cv-03577-LHK Document 24 Filed 09/16/21 Page 5 of 6

1 AHDOOT & WOLFSON, PC

2600 West Olive Avenue, Suite 500
2 Burbank, CA 91505
Telephone: (310) 474-9111
3 Facsimile: (310) 474-8585
twolfson@ahdootwolfson.com
4 rahdoot@ahdootwolfson.com

5 Edwin J. Kilpela, Jr. (pro hac vice to be filed)

CARLSON LYNCH LLP
6 1133 Penn Avenue, 5th Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
7 Telephone: (412) 322-9243
Facsimile: (412) 231-0246
8 ekilpela@carlsonlynch.com

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Attorneys for Kim Plaintiffs
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Dated: September 16, 2021
11 By: /s/ Whitty Somvichian
12 Whitty Somvichian (SBN 194463)
wsomvichian@cooley.com
13 Michael G. Rhodes (SBN 116127)
rhodesmg@cooley.com
14 Danielle C. Pierre (SBN 300567)
dpierre@cooley.com
15 Sharon Song (SBN 313535)
ssong@cooley.com
16 COOLEY LLP
3 Embarcadero Center, 20th Floor
17 San Francisco, California 94111-4004
Telephone: (415) 693-2000
18 Facsimile: (415) 693-2222
19 Attorneys for Defendant Tesla, Inc.
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LAW OFFICES JOINT CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT; Case No. 5:21-cv-03577-LHK 4
COTCHETT, PITRE &
MCCARTHY, LLP
 Case 5:21-cv-03577-LHK Document 24 Filed 09/16/21 Page 6 of 6

1 ATTESTATION PURSUANT TO CIVIL LOCAL RULE 5-1(i)(3)

2 I, Whitty Somvichian, attest that concurrence in the filing of this document has been obtained

3 from the other signatories. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

5 Executed this 16 day of September, 2021, at Oakland, California.

7 /s/ Whitty Somvichian

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LAW OFFICES JOINT CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT; Case No. 5:21-cv-03577-LHK 5
COTCHETT, PITRE &
MCCARTHY, LLP