Case: Crawford v. McDonald's

1:20-cv-05132 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Filed Date: Aug. 31, 2020

Case Ongoing

Clearinghouse coding complete

Case Summary

On August 31, 2020, 52 black McDonald’s franchisees filed this lawsuit against McDonald’s in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Plaintiffs claimed that McDonald’s racially discriminated against them in its management policies and set the franchisees up to fail by placing them in economically depressed locations and high-crime areas. The plaintiffs sued under 42 U.S. § 1981 (part of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 guaranteeing equal rights under the law), alleging that M…

On August 31, 2020, 52 black McDonald’s franchisees filed this lawsuit against McDonald’s in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Plaintiffs claimed that McDonald’s racially discriminated against them in its management policies and set the franchisees up to fail by placing them in economically depressed locations and high-crime areas. The plaintiffs sued under 42 U.S. § 1981 (part of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 guaranteeing equal rights under the law), alleging that McDonald’s knowingly discriminated against Plaintiffs by denying equal advancement opportunities to them as compared to white counterparts. Additionally, the plaintiffs sued under state law, alleging that McDonald’s engaged in disproportionately harsh enforcement of the Franchise Agreement that amounted to a breach of contract and fraudulent omission of requirements that were more stringent for them as well as of opportunities that were available to white franchisees. Represented by the Ferraro Law Firm based in Florida, the franchisees sought between $4 and $ 5 million per restaurant in compensatory damages, consequential damages, and punitive damages as well as attorney’s fees and costs. Judge Steve C. Seeger was assigned to the case.

McDonald’s moved twice to dismiss the franchisees’ complaint for failure to state a valid claim. Following the first motion, the franchisees amended their complaint on November 16, 2020, to include 25 more plaintiffs, add details regarding McDonald’s Franchise Agreement, and remove an explicit cause of action for punitive damages, though Plaintiffs still seek punitive damages. McDonald’s filed the second motion to dismiss on December 21, 2020, after which franchisees responded.

On February 2, 2021, McDonalds filed a reply both to the franchisees' amended complaint and in support of defendant's motion to dismiss. This reply alleged plaintiffs' claims failed because they were conclusory, failed to use facts particular enough to support their claims, and were time-barred under the statute of limitations of 42 U.S. § 1981.

As of July 6, 2021, no further significant actions have occurred. This case is ongoing.

Summary Authors

Eric Gripp (7/6/2021)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17742577/parties/crawford-v-mcdonalds-usa-llc/


Judge(s)
Attorney for Plaintiff

Fahey, William R (Illinois)

Ferraro, James L (Florida)

Attorney for Defendant

Andrews, Amy Curtner (Illinois)

Buergel, Susanna M. (New York)

Holmes, Patricia Brown (Illinois)

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document

1:20-cv-05132

Docket [PACER]

Crawford v. McDonald's USA, LLC

June 30, 2021

June 30, 2021

Docket
1

1:20-cv-05132

Complaint

Crawford v. McDonalds

Aug. 31, 2020

Aug. 31, 2020

Complaint
30

1:20-cv-05132

Amended Complaint

Crawford v. McDonald's USA

Nov. 16, 2020

Nov. 16, 2020

Complaint

Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17742577/crawford-v-mcdonalds-usa-llc/

Last updated March 5, 2024, 3:09 a.m.

ECF Number Description Date Link Date / Link
8

Fifth Amended General Order 20-0012 IN RE: CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 PUBLIC EMERGENCY Signed by the Chief Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer on July 10, 2020. This Order does not extend or modify any deadlines set in civil cases. No motions may be noticed for in-person presentment; the presiding judge will notify parties of the need, if any, for a hearing by electronic means or in-court proceeding. See attached Order. Signed by the Honorable Rebecca R. Pallmeyer on 7/10/2020. Mailed notice(gcy, ) (Entered: 09/01/2020)

July 10, 2020

July 10, 2020

PACER
1

COMPLAINT filed by Jeremy Lewis, Harold Lewis, Arthur Scott, Keith Manning, Victor Bruce, Mitchell McGuire, Delores Crawford, Christine Crawford, Lois McGuire, Kurt Holloway, Lisa Gunter, Serge Tancrede, David White, Michael Simon, John Tillman, Annis Alston-Staley, John Mason, Yvonne Knox, Darryl Umphries, George Gipson, Laetitia Johnson, Kent Jones, Lawrence Holland, Carrie Salone, Jeremiah Simmons, Gordon Thornton, Errol Service, Errol Thybulle, Larry Brown, Melvin Jones, Allen Stafford, Ralph King, Jacqueline George, Joseph Mbanefo, William Rasul, Juneth N Daniel, Dawn Mussenden, Joketra Hall, Harry Staley, Floyd Sims, Ronnie Thornton, Wise Finley, Jeffery Rogers, Lewis Anderson, Kenneth Manning, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, LeRoy Walker, Jr., Karen Tancrede, Hayes Ferrell, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Van Jakes; Jury Demand. Filing fee $ 400, receipt number 0752-17381347. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Exhibit F)(Ferraro, James) (Entered: 08/31/2020)

1 Exhibit A

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2 Exhibit B

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3 Exhibit C

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4 Exhibit D

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5 Exhibit E

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6 Exhibit F

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Aug. 31, 2020

Aug. 31, 2020

RECAP
2

CIVIL Cover Sheet (Ferraro, James) (Entered: 08/31/2020)

Aug. 31, 2020

Aug. 31, 2020

PACER
3

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Joketra Hall, Lawrence Holland, Kurt Holloway, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, Kent Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dawn Mussenden, William Rasul, Jeffery Rogers, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., David White by James L. Ferraro (Ferraro, James) (Entered: 08/31/2020)

Aug. 31, 2020

Aug. 31, 2020

PACER
4

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Joketra Hall, Lawrence Holland, Kurt Holloway, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, Kent Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dawn Mussenden, William Rasul, Jeffery Rogers, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., David White by Janpaul Portal (Portal, Janpaul) (Entered: 09/01/2020)

Sept. 1, 2020

Sept. 1, 2020

PACER
5

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Joketra Hall, Lawrence Holland, Kurt Holloway, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, Kent Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dawn Mussenden, William Rasul, Jeffery Rogers, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., David White by Mamie Coleen Joeveer (Joeveer, Mamie) (Entered: 09/01/2020)

Sept. 1, 2020

Sept. 1, 2020

PACER
6

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Joketra Hall, Lawrence Holland, Kurt Holloway, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, Kent Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dawn Mussenden, William Rasul, Jeffery Rogers, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., David White by Natalia Maria Salas (Salas, Natalia) (Entered: 09/01/2020)

Sept. 1, 2020

Sept. 1, 2020

PACER

CASE ASSIGNED to the Honorable Steven C. Seeger. Designated as Magistrate Judge the Honorable Maria Valdez. Case assignment: Random assignment. (cp, )

Sept. 1, 2020

Sept. 1, 2020

PACER
7

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: An initial status report is due by November 19, 2020. Counsel must read the Standing Order entitled "Initial Status Conferences and Joint Initial Status Reports" on the Court's website. The parties must discuss settlement in good faith and make a serious attempt to resolve this case amicably. The parties also must confer as required by Rule 26(f) about the nature, scope, and duration of discovery. The parties must submit two documents to the Court. First, the parties must file the Joint Initial Status Report under Rule 26(f) on the docket. A Word version of the Joint Initial Status Report is available on the Court's website. Second, the parties must submit a Word version of a proposed Scheduling Order under Rule 16(b) to the Court's proposed order inbox. Lead counsel for the parties must participate in filing the initial status report. Plaintiff must serve this Order on all other parties. If the defendant has not been served with process, plaintiff's counsel must contact the Courtroom Deputy at jessica_j_ramos@ilnd.uscourts.gov to reschedule the initial status report deadline. Plaintiff should not file the Joint Initial Status Report before the defendant(s) has been served with process. All counsel of record must read and comply with this Court's Standing Orders on its webpage. Please pay special attention to the Standing Orders about Depositions and Discovery. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 09/01/2020)

Sept. 1, 2020

Sept. 1, 2020

PACER

SUMMONS Issued as to Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. (jg, )

Sept. 2, 2020

Sept. 2, 2020

PACER
9

ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. by Patricia Brown Holmes (Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 09/10/2020)

Sept. 10, 2020

Sept. 10, 2020

PACER
10

ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. by Amy Curtner Andrews (Andrews, Amy) (Entered: 09/10/2020)

Sept. 10, 2020

Sept. 10, 2020

PACER
11

MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Filing fee $ 150, receipt number 0752-17416335. (Lynch, Loretta) (Entered: 09/10/2020)

Sept. 10, 2020

Sept. 10, 2020

PACER
12

MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Filing fee $ 150, receipt number 0752-17416410. (Buergel, Susanna) (Entered: 09/10/2020)

Sept. 10, 2020

Sept. 10, 2020

PACER
13

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: The Court grants both motions to appear pro hac vice. (Dckt. No. 11 and 12 ) Attorney Susanna M. Buergel and Loretta E. Lynch are added as counsel for Defendants. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 09/10/2020)

Sept. 10, 2020

Sept. 10, 2020

PACER
14

ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. by Loretta E. Lynch (Lynch, Loretta) (Entered: 09/10/2020)

Sept. 10, 2020

Sept. 10, 2020

PACER
15

ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. by Susanna M. Buergel (Buergel, Susanna) (Entered: 09/10/2020)

Sept. 10, 2020

Sept. 10, 2020

PACER
16

ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. by Raymond Dion Rushing (Rushing, Raymond) (Entered: 09/11/2020)

Sept. 11, 2020

Sept. 11, 2020

PACER
17

MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Filing fee $ 150, receipt number 0752-17428589. (Wu, Andrew) (Entered: 09/11/2020)

Sept. 11, 2020

Sept. 11, 2020

PACER
18

MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Filing fee $ 150, receipt number 0752-17428615. (King, Karen) (Entered: 09/11/2020)

Sept. 11, 2020

Sept. 11, 2020

PACER
19

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: The Court grants both motions for leave to appear pro hac vice (Dckt. Nos. 17 and 18 ) Attorney Andrew Jason Wu and Karen King are added as counsel for McDonald's Corporation and McDonald's USA, LLC. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 09/14/2020)

Sept. 14, 2020

Sept. 14, 2020

PACER
20

ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. by Andrew Jason Wu (Wu, Andrew) (Entered: 09/14/2020)

Sept. 14, 2020

Sept. 14, 2020

PACER
21

ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. by Karen King (King, Karen) (Entered: 09/14/2020)

Sept. 14, 2020

Sept. 14, 2020

PACER
22

MOTION by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. for extension of time and proposed order regarding briefing schedule and page limits for defendant's Rule 12(B) Motion (Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 09/17/2020)

Sept. 17, 2020

Sept. 17, 2020

PACER
23

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: Defendants' Unopposed Motion for Extension of Time (Dckt. No. 22 ) is hereby granted. As agreed, the Court extends the deadline for Defendants to respond to the complaint to October 23, 2020. Plaintiffs' response is due by November 23, and the reply is due by December 7. The Court also grants the request for additional pages. The page limit for Defendants' opening brief, and Plaintiffs' response brief, is 35 pages. The page limit for the reply brief is 15 pages. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 09/18/2020)

Sept. 18, 2020

Sept. 18, 2020

PACER
24

MOTION by Defendants McDonald's USA, LLC., McDonald's Corporation to dismiss Pursuant to Rule 12(B)(6) (Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 10/23/2020)

Oct. 23, 2020

Oct. 23, 2020

PACER
25

MEMORANDUM by McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. in support of motion to dismiss 24 (Attachments: # 1 Index, # 2 Exhibit 1, # 3 Exhibit 2, # 4 Exhibit 3(a)-(k))(Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 10/23/2020)

Oct. 23, 2020

Oct. 23, 2020

PACER
26

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: The Court sets the following briefing schedule for Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. (Dckt. No. 24 ) Plaintiffs shall file a response by November 20, 2020. Defendants shall file a reply by December 4, 2020. No appearance on the motion is necessary. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 10/23/2020)

Oct. 23, 2020

Oct. 23, 2020

PACER
27

ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. by Ariel Schepers Wilson (Wilson, Ariel) (Entered: 11/10/2020)

Nov. 10, 2020

Nov. 10, 2020

PACER
28

MOTION by Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Joketra Hall, Lawrence Holland, Kurt Holloway, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, Kent Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dawn Mussenden, William Rasul, Jeffery Rogers, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., David White for leave to file Amended Complaint (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A)(Ferraro, James) (Entered: 11/13/2020)

Nov. 13, 2020

Nov. 13, 2020

PACER
29

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to File Amended Complaint as a Matter of Course Pursuant to Rule 15 (Dckt. No. 28 ) is hereby granted. Rule 15(a)(1)(B) provides that a party "may amend its pleading once as a matter of course within... 21 days after service of a responsive pleading or 21 days after service of a motion under Rule 12(b), (e), or (f), whichever is earlier." See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1)(B). As the plain text reveals, Rule 15(a)(1)(B) contemplates an amendment "without the permission of the court." See 6 Charles Alan Wright et al., Fed. Prac. & Proc. ยง 1480 (3d ed. 2020). As long as the party files the amended pleading within 21 days, there is no need to ask the Court for anything. "The purpose of the amendment-as-of-right provision is to avoid judicial involvement in the pleading process when there is little reason for doing so." Id.; see also Bertha v. Sullivan, 719 F. App'x 516, 518 (7th Cir. 2017) ("Bertha filed his amended complaint within that [21-day] time limit, so permission from the judge was unnecessary."). "[W]hether to allow an amendment" is "out of the court's hands entirely" if the party files an amendment within 21 days. See Swanigan v. City of Chicago, 775 F.3d 953, 963 (7th Cir. 2015). Here, Plaintiffs filed a "motion for leave" to file an amended complaint "as a matter of course." (Dckt. No. 28 ) Those are two different things -- a party does not need permission to file an amended pleading as a matter of course. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss on October 23, 2020. (Dckt. No. 24 ) So, under the Federal Rules, Plaintiffs had a right to file an amended complaint by November 13, 2020, meaning 21 days later. But instead of filing an amended complaint, Plaintiffs filed a motion for leave to file an amended complaint, and did so on November 13, 2020. There was no need to file a motion for permission because, under the Federal Rules, they did not need permission. But by filing a motion for leave to file an amended complaint, instead of filing the amended complaint itself, Plaintiffs missed the deadline to file an amended complaint without permission. They asked for permission when they didn't need it, and thus missed a deadline to file something without permission. And by missing the deadline to file something without permission, Plaintiffs now need permission. Permission is granted. The motion (Dckt. No. 28 ) is granted. Plaintiffs attached the proposed first amended complaint as an attachment to their motion. Plaintiffs shall file the first amended complaint as a freestanding docket entry by November 23, 2020. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) Modified on 11/18/2020 (jjr, ). (Entered: 11/16/2020)

Nov. 16, 2020

Nov. 16, 2020

PACER
30

AMENDED complaint by Jeremy Lewis, Harold Lewis, Arthur Scott, Keith Manning, Victor Bruce, Lois McGuire, Lisa Gunter, Serge Tancrede, David White, Yvonne Knox, Laetitia Johnson, Lawrence Holland, Carrie Salone, Jeremiah Simmons, Allen Stafford, Jacqueline George, Joseph Mbanefo, Harry Staley, Floyd Sims, Ronnie Thornton, Lewis Anderson, Karen Tancrede, Hayes Ferrell, Delores Crawford, Mitchell McGuire, Christine Crawford, Michael Simon, John Tillman, Annis Alston-Staley, John Mason, Darryl Umphries, George Gipson, Errol Service, Gordon Thornton, Errol Thybulle, Melvin Jones, Larry Brown, Ralph King, William Rasul, Juneth N Daniel, Dawn Mussenden, Wise Finley, Jeffery Rogers, Kenneth Manning, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, LeRoy Walker, Jr., Dwayne Richard Johnson, Van Jakes, Glenna Hollis, George Jones, Paul Hoskins, Douglas Hollis, Jane Jones, Joyce Mance-Roan, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Keristin Holloway, Jacqueline Wynn, Barbara White, Kenneth Nelson, Kristen Harris, Al Harris, Michele Hoskins, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Dwight Miller, Wesley Hall, William (Pete) Washington, Gary Roan, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Sherman Claypool Claypool, Anthony George, Eleanor Clark, Bernard Saffold, Benny Clark, Gloria Holloway, Scott Miller, Faye Hobley against McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. and terminating Kent Jones, Joketra Hall and Kurt Holloway (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A-1, # 2 Exhibit A-2, # 3 Exhibit B, # 4 Exhibit C, # 5 Exhibit D, # 6 Exhibit E, # 7 Exhibit F)(Ferraro, James) (Entered: 11/16/2020)

1 Exhibit A-1

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2 Exhibit A-2

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3 Exhibit B

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4 Exhibit C

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5 Exhibit D

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6 Exhibit E

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7 Exhibit F

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Nov. 16, 2020

Nov. 16, 2020

RECAP
31

MOTION by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. for extension of time to file response/reply to Plaintiff's Amended Complaint and Submit Joint Status Report and for Expansion of Briefing Page Limits for Defendants Rule 12(B) Motion (Holmes, Patricia) Text Modified on 11/18/2020 (gcy, ). (Entered: 11/17/2020)

Nov. 17, 2020

Nov. 17, 2020

PACER
32

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Benny Clark, Eleanor Clark, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Anthony George, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Wesley Hall, Al Harris, Kristen Harris, Faye Hobley, Lawrence Holland, Douglas Hollis, Glenna Hollis, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, George Jones, Jane Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Joyce Mance-Roan, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dwight Miller, Scott Miller, Dawn Mussenden, Kenneth Nelson, William Rasul, Gary Roan, Jeffery Rogers, Bernard Saffold, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., William (Pete) Washington, Barbara White, David White, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Jacqueline Wynn by Natalia Maria Salas (Salas, Natalia) (Entered: 11/18/2020)

Nov. 18, 2020

Nov. 18, 2020

PACER
33

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Benny Clark, Eleanor Clark, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Anthony George, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Wesley Hall, Al Harris, Kristen Harris, Faye Hobley, Lawrence Holland, Douglas Hollis, Glenna Hollis, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, George Jones, Jane Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Joyce Mance-Roan, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dwight Miller, Scott Miller, Dawn Mussenden, Kenneth Nelson, William Rasul, Gary Roan, Jeffery Rogers, Bernard Saffold, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., William (Pete) Washington, Barbara White, David White, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Jacqueline Wynn by Mamie Coleen Joeveer (Joeveer, Mamie) (Entered: 11/18/2020)

Nov. 18, 2020

Nov. 18, 2020

PACER
34

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Benny Clark, Eleanor Clark, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Anthony George, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Wesley Hall, Al Harris, Kristen Harris, Faye Hobley, Lawrence Holland, Douglas Hollis, Glenna Hollis, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, George Jones, Jane Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Joyce Mance-Roan, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dwight Miller, Scott Miller, Dawn Mussenden, Kenneth Nelson, William Rasul, Gary Roan, Jeffery Rogers, Bernard Saffold, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., William (Pete) Washington, Barbara White, David White, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Jacqueline Wynn by Janpaul Portal (Portal, Janpaul) (Entered: 11/19/2020)

Nov. 19, 2020

Nov. 19, 2020

PACER
35

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: Defendants' Unopposed Motion for Extension of Time to Respond to Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint and Submit a Joint Status Report and for an Expansion of Briefing Page Limits for Defendants' Rule 12(b) Motion (Dckt No. 31 ) is granted. Defendants anticipate filing a Rule 12(b) motion by December 21, 2020. Plaintiffs' response is due by January 15, 2021. Defendants' reply is due by January 29, 2021. The Court extends the joint initial status report deadline to January 18, 2021. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) Modified on 11/23/2020 (jjr, ). (Entered: 11/19/2020)

Nov. 19, 2020

Nov. 19, 2020

PACER
36

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Benny Clark, Eleanor Clark, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Anthony George, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Wesley Hall, Al Harris, Kristen Harris, Faye Hobley, Lawrence Holland, Douglas Hollis, Glenna Hollis, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, George Jones, Jane Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Joyce Mance-Roan, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dwight Miller, Scott Miller, Dawn Mussenden, Kenneth Nelson, William Rasul, Gary Roan, Jeffery Rogers, Bernard Saffold, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., William (Pete) Washington, Barbara White, David White, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Jacqueline Wynn by Daryl D Parks (Parks, Daryl) (Entered: 11/24/2020)

Nov. 24, 2020

Nov. 24, 2020

PACER
37

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: In light of the filing of the amended complaint (Dckt. No. 30 ), the motion to dismiss (Dckt. No. 24 ) is hereby denied as moot. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 12/08/2020)

Dec. 8, 2020

Dec. 8, 2020

PACER
38

MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. (Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 12/21/2020)

Dec. 21, 2020

Dec. 21, 2020

PACER
39

MEMORANDUM by McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. in support of Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim 38 (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - 4-I in Support of Motion to Dismiss)(Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 12/21/2020)

Dec. 21, 2020

Dec. 21, 2020

PACER
40

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: The Court sets the following briefing schedule on Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint. (Dckt. No. 38 ) Plaintiffs' response is due by January 19, 2021. Defendants' reply is due by February 2, 2021. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 12/22/2020)

Dec. 22, 2020

Dec. 22, 2020

PACER
41

MOTION by Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Benny Clark, Eleanor Clark, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Anthony George, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Joketra Hall, Wesley Hall, Al Harris, Kristen Harris, Faye Hobley, Lawrence Holland, Douglas Hollis, Glenna Hollis, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Kurt Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, George Jones, Jane Jones, Kent Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Joyce Mance-Roan, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dwight Miller, Scott Miller, Dawn Mussenden, Kenneth Nelson, William Rasul, Gary Roan, Jeffery Rogers, Bernard Saffold, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., William (Pete) Washington, Barbara White, David White, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Jacqueline Wynn for leave to file excess pages (Ferraro, James) (Entered: 01/12/2021)

Jan. 12, 2021

Jan. 12, 2021

PACER
42

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: Plaintiffs' Unopposed Motion for Increased Page Limits (Dckt. No. 41 ) is denied as moot. Defendants filed a 35-page brief in support of their motion to dismiss. (Dckt. No. 39 ) Plaintiffs now seek to file a brief of the same length. After citing the Local Rule about 15-page briefs, Plaintiffs "request an additional twenty (20) pages," and "request that the Court approve Plaintiffs' request to exceed briefing page limits for a total of thirty-five (35) pages for their Response in Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss." (Dckt. No. 41 ) But this Court already gave Plaintiffs leave to file a 35-page response brief. On September 18, 2020, this Court issued an Order that increased the page limits for all parties on the then-forthcoming motion to dismiss. "The page limit for Defendants' opening brief, and Plaintiffs' response brief, is 35 pages." Plaintiffs are asking the Court for leave to do something that they already have leave to do, so the motion is moot. In short, Plaintiffs can file a 35-page brief. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 01/13/2021)

Jan. 13, 2021

Jan. 13, 2021

PACER
43

STATUS Report Joint Status Report by McDonald's USA, LLC; McDonald's Corporation AND by Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Benny Clark, Eleanor Clark, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Anthony George, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Wesley Hall, Al Harris, Kristen Harris, Faye Hobley, Lawrence Holland, Douglas Hollis, Glenna Hollis, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, George Jones, Jane Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Joyce Mance-Roan, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dwight Miller, Scott Miller, Dawn Mussenden, Kenneth Nelson, William Rasul, Gary Roan, Jeffery Rogers, Bernard Saffold, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., William (Pete) Washington, Barbara White, David White, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Jacqueline Wynn (Ferraro, James) (Entered: 01/19/2021)

Jan. 19, 2021

Jan. 19, 2021

PACER
44

RESPONSE by Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Benny Clark, Eleanor Clark, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Anthony George, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Joketra Hall, Wesley Hall, Al Harris, Kristen Harris, Faye Hobley, Lawrence Holland, Douglas Hollis, Glenna Hollis, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Kurt Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, George Jones, Jane Jones, Kent Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Joyce Mance-Roan, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dwight Miller, Scott Miller, Dawn Mussenden, Kenneth Nelson, William Rasul, Gary Roan, Jeffery Rogers, Bernard Saffold, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., William (Pete) Washington, Barbara White, David White, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Jacqueline Wynnin Opposition to MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. 38 (Salas, Natalia) (Entered: 01/19/2021)

Jan. 19, 2021

Jan. 19, 2021

PACER
45

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: The Court reviewed the Joint Initial Status Report (Dckt. No. 43 ). The parties disagree about whether discovery should proceed pending a ruling on the motion to dismiss, which the parties are still briefing (the reply is due on February 2, 2021). Plaintiffs are a putative class of 77 former Black franchisees of McDonald's. They operated more than 300 restaurants. Plaintiffs seek between $4 million and $5 million per restaurant in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages. All together, Plaintiffs seek more than $1 billion in damages. In light of the number of plaintiffs, the anticipated scope of discovery, and the enormity of the requested damages, it makes sense to assess the viability of the complaint before proceeding headlong into discovery. Discovery surely would be burdensome and expensive, so the sufficiency of the complaint must come first. Discovery is hereby stayed pending further order of the Court. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 01/21/2021)

Jan. 21, 2021

Jan. 21, 2021

PACER
46

MOTION by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. for leave to file excess pages of it's reply in support of their rule 12(B) motion and proposed order (Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 01/28/2021)

Jan. 28, 2021

Jan. 28, 2021

PACER
47

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: Defendants' unopposed motion for extra pages (Dckt. No. 46 ) is hereby granted. The Court grants Defendants leave to file a 25-page reply brief in support of their motion to dismiss. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 01/29/2021)

Jan. 29, 2021

Jan. 29, 2021

PACER
48

REPLY by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. to Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim 38 in support of (Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 02/02/2021)

Feb. 2, 2021

Feb. 2, 2021

RECAP
49

MOTION by Attorney Karen R. King to withdraw as attorney for McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC.. No party information provided (King, Karen) (Entered: 02/12/2021)

Feb. 12, 2021

Feb. 12, 2021

PACER
50

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: The motion to Withdraw as Counsel for Defendants (Dckt. No. 49 ) is granted. Attorney Karen King is terminated as counsel of record.Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 02/12/2021)

Feb. 12, 2021

Feb. 12, 2021

PACER
51

Rule 7.1 and Rule 3.2 Corporate Disclosure STATEMENT by McDonald's Corporation (Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 04/16/2021)

April 16, 2021

April 16, 2021

PACER
52

Rule 7.1 and Rule 3.2 Corporate Disclosure STATEMENT by McDonald's USA, LLC. (Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 04/16/2021)

April 16, 2021

April 16, 2021

PACER
53

MOTION by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. for leave to file supplemental authority (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1)(Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 06/14/2021)

1 Exhibit 1

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June 14, 2021

June 14, 2021

RECAP
54

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: Defendants' motion for leave to file supplemental authority (Dckt. No. 53 ) is granted. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 06/15/2021)

June 15, 2021

June 15, 2021

PACER
55

MOTION by Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Benny Clark, Eleanor Clark, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Anthony George, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Joketra Hall, Wesley Hall, Al Harris, Kristen Harris, Faye Hobley, Lawrence Holland, Douglas Hollis, Glenna Hollis, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Kurt Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, George Jones, Jane Jones, Kent Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Joyce Mance-Roan, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dwight Miller, Scott Miller, Dawn Mussenden, Kenneth Nelson, William Rasul, Gary Roan, Jeffery Rogers, Bernard Saffold, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., William (Pete) Washington, Barbara White, David White, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Jacqueline Wynn for leave to file Supplemental Authority (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1)(Ferraro, James) (Entered: 06/29/2021)

June 29, 2021

June 29, 2021

PACER
56

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: Plaintiff's motion for leave to file supplemental authority (Dckt. No. 55 ) is hereby granted. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 06/30/2021)

June 30, 2021

June 30, 2021

PACER
57

MOTION by Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Benny Clark, Eleanor Clark, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Anthony George, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Wesley Hall, Al Harris, Kristen Harris, Faye Hobley, Lawrence Holland, Douglas Hollis, Glenna Hollis, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, George Jones, Jane Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Joyce Mance-Roan, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dwight Miller, Scott Miller, Dawn Mussenden, Kenneth Nelson, William Rasul, Gary Roan, Jeffery Rogers, Bernard Saffold, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., William (Pete) Washington, Barbara White, David White, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Jacqueline Wynn for leave to file Supplemental Authority (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1)(Ferraro, James) (Entered: 09/10/2021)

Sept. 10, 2021

Sept. 10, 2021

PACER
58

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: Plaintiff's motion for leave to file supplemental authority (Dckt. No. [57]) is granted. Mailed notice. (jjr, )

Oct. 4, 2021

Oct. 4, 2021

PACER
59

MOTION by Attorney Andrew Jason Wu to withdraw as attorney for McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC.. No party information provided (Wu, Andrew)

July 28, 2022

July 28, 2022

PACER
60

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: The motion to withdraw as counsel for defendants (Dckt. No. [59]) is granted. Attorney Andrew Jason Wu is terminated as counsel of record. Mailed notice. (jjr, )

July 29, 2022

July 29, 2022

PACER
61

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: The Court sets a telephonic status hearing for September 28, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. Members of the public and media will be able to call in to listen to this hearing. The call-in number is (888) 684-8852 and the access code is 9369830. Persons granted remote access to proceedings are reminded of the general prohibition against photographing, recording, and rebroadcasting of court proceedings. Violation of these prohibitions may result in sanctions, including removal of court issued media credentials, restricted entry to future hearings, denial of entry to future hearings, or any other sanctions deemed necessary by the Court. Mailed notice. (jjr, )

Sept. 22, 2022

Sept. 22, 2022

PACER
62

MOTION by Plaintiffs Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Benny Clark, Eleanor Clark, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Anthony George, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Wesley Hall, Al Harris, Kristen Harris, Faye Hobley, Lawrence Holland, Douglas Hollis, Glenna Hollis, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, George Jones, Jane Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Joyce Mance-Roan, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dwight Miller, Scott Miller, Dawn Mussenden, Kenneth Nelson, William Rasul, Gary Roan, Jeffery Rogers, Bernard Saffold, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., William (Pete) Washington, Barbara White, David White, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Jacqueline Wynn for leave to file Supplemental Authorities (Attachments: # (1) Exhibit A- Entertainment Studios Network, Inc., et al. v McDonald's USA, LLC - Order re Pending Motion, # (2) Exhibit B- Williams, et al. v. State Farm, et. al.,- Memorandum Opinion and Order)(Ferraro, James)

1 Exhibit A- Entertainment Studios Network, Inc., et al. v McDonald's USA, L

View on PACER

2 Exhibit B- Williams, et al. v. State Farm, et. al.,- Memorandum Opinion and Orde

View on PACER

Sept. 24, 2022

Sept. 24, 2022

PACER
63

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: Status hearing held on September 28, 2022. For the reasons stated on the record, defendants' motion to dismiss plaintiffs' amended complaint (Dckt. No. [38]) is granted. The Court grants plaintiff leave to file a second amended complaint by October 21, 2022. The Court directs the parties to engage in renewed settlement discussions in good faith. By October 14, 2022, the parties must file a statement on the docket addressing whether there is a joint request for a settlement conference. During the hearing, Plaintiffs' counsel unnecessarily divulged the amount of a settlement offer. After the hearing, Plaintiffs' counsel called the Courtroom Deputy and asked about the possibility of striking that statement from the record. The cat is already out of the bag, and this Court cannot unring the bell (pardon the mixed metaphors). But the Court can and will put it under seal. The Court hereby seals the reference during the hearing to the amount of the settlement offer. Only that limited portion of the transcript is sealed. The rest of the transcript (meaning everything except the amount of the settlement offer) is not under seal. Mailed notice. (jjr, )

Sept. 28, 2022

Sept. 28, 2022

RECAP
64

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: Plaintiff's motion for leave to file supplemental authority (Dckt. No. [62]) is hereby granted in part, and denied in part. It is granted in the sense that the Court looked at it before issuing its ruling on the motion to dismiss. It is denied in the sense that it is now moot in light of that ruling. Mailed notice. (jjr, )

Oct. 3, 2022

Oct. 3, 2022

RECAP
66

Extension of Time

Oct. 14, 2022

Oct. 14, 2022

PACER
67

Order on Motion for Extension of Time

Oct. 18, 2022

Oct. 18, 2022

PACER
69

Extension of Time

Oct. 27, 2022

Oct. 27, 2022

PACER
70

Order on Motion for Extension of Time

Nov. 1, 2022

Nov. 1, 2022

PACER
71

Substitute Attorney

Nov. 11, 2022

Nov. 11, 2022

PACER
72

Hearing

Nov. 12, 2022

Nov. 12, 2022

PACER
73

Leave to File Document

Nov. 14, 2022

Nov. 14, 2022

PACER
74

Order on Motion for Leave to File

Nov. 15, 2022

Nov. 15, 2022

PACER
76

Plaintiffs' Joint Statement Pursuant to November 15, 2022 Minute Entry STATEMENT by Annis Alston-Staley, Lewis Anderson, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Larry Brown, Victor Bruce, Benny Clark, Eleanor Clark, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Wise Finley, Anthony George, Jacqueline George, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Wesley Hall, Al Harris, Kristen Harris, Faye Hobley, Lawrence Holland, Douglas Hollis, Glenna Hollis, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, George Jones, Jane Jones, Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Joyce Mance-Roan, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, John Mason, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dwight Miller, Scott Miller, Dawn Mussenden, Kenneth Nelson, William Rasul, Gary Roan, Jeffery Rogers, Bernard Saffold, Carrie Salone, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Jeremiah Simmons, Michael Simon, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, John Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., William (Pete) Washington, Barbara White, David White, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Jacqueline Wynn (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A- Client Directives)(Ferraro, James) (Entered: 11/30/2022)

1 Exhibit A- Client Directives

View on PACER

Nov. 30, 2022

Nov. 30, 2022

RECAP
77

Defendants' Submission Pursuant to November 15, 2022 Minute Entry STATEMENT by McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. (Andrews, Amy) (Entered: 12/02/2022)

Dec. 2, 2022

Dec. 2, 2022

RECAP
79

Second AMENDED complaint by Bernard Saffold, Arthur Scott, Victor Bruce, Keristin Holloway, Lisa Gunter, David White, Yvonne Knox, Jane Jones, Michele Hoskins, Faye Hobley, Lewis Anderson, Hayes Ferrell, Barbara White, Gloria Holloway, Michael Simon, John Tillman, John Mason, Darryl Umphries, George Gipson, Errol Service, George Jones, Ralph King, Gary Roan, Paul Hoskins, Joyce Mance-Roan, Philip Douglas, LeRoy Walker, Jr., Kenneth Nelson, Marcia Tillman, Bonnie GIpson, LaMonika Jones, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Melvin Jones against McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Exhibit F, # 7 Exhibit G, # 8 Exhibit H)(Ferraro, James) (Entered: 12/16/2022)

Dec. 16, 2022

Dec. 16, 2022

PACER
78

SECOND AMENDED complaint by Dwight Miller, Jeremy Lewis, Harold Lewis, Keith Manning, Wesley Hall, Douglas Hollis, Lois McGuire, Al Harris, Serge Tancrede, Jacqueline Wynn, Benny Clark, Laetitia Johnson, Lawrence Holland, Carrie Salone, Anthony George, Jeremiah Simmons, Allen Stafford, Jacqueline George, Joseph Mbanefo, Kristen Harris, Harry Staley, Floyd Sims, Ronnie Thornton, Eleanor Clark, Norman H Williams, Karen Tancrede, Delores Crawford, Mitchell McGuire, Christine Crawford, Lance Williams, Annis Alston-Staley, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Scott Miller, Gordon Thornton, Glenna Hollis, Errol Thybulle, Larry Brown, Robert (Bob) Bonner, William (Pete) Washington, Juneth N Daniel, William Rasul, Dawn Mussenden, Wise Finley, Kenneth Manning, Jeffery Rogers, Yves Dominique, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Van Jakes against All Defendants (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C)(Loevy, Jonathan) (Entered: 12/16/2022)

Dec. 16, 2022

Dec. 16, 2022

PACER
80

MOTION by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. for extension of time to file response/reply as to amended complaint,,, 79, amended complaint,,, 78 Partially Unopposed (Andrews, Amy) (Entered: 12/28/2022)

Dec. 28, 2022

Dec. 28, 2022

RECAP
82

MOTION by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. to dismiss Second Amended Complaints Pursuant to Rules 12(B)(1) and 12(B)(6) (Andrews, Amy) (Entered: 12/30/2022)

Dec. 30, 2022

Dec. 30, 2022

PACER
81

RESPONSE by Annis Alston-Staley, Robert (Bob) Bonner, Larry Brown, Benny Clark, Eleanor Clark, Glenda, as Personal Representative of the Estate o Claypool, Christine Crawford, Delores Crawford, Juneth N Daniel, Yves Dominique, Wise Finley, Anthony George, Jacqueline George, Wesley Hall, Al Harris, Kristen Harris, Lawrence Holland, Douglas Hollis, Glenna Hollis, Van Jakes, Dwayne Richard Johnson, Laetitia Johnson, Harold Lewis, Jeremy Lewis, Keith Manning, Kenneth Manning, Joseph Mbanefo, Lois McGuire, Mitchell McGuire, Dwight Miller, Scott Miller, Dawn Mussenden, William Rasul, Jeffery Rogers, Carrie Salone, Jeremiah Simmons, Floyd Sims, Allen Stafford, Harry Staley, Karen Tancrede, Serge Tancrede, Gordon Thornton, Ronnie Thornton, Errol Thybulle, William (Pete) Washington, Lance Williams, Norman H Williams, Jacqueline Wynn to MOTION by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. for extension of time to file response/reply as to amended complaint,,, 79, amended complaint,,, 78 Partially Unopposed 80 (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A)(Loevy, Jonathan) (Entered: 12/30/2022)

Dec. 30, 2022

Dec. 30, 2022

PACER
88

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Maria Valdez: This case has been referred to Judge Valdez to conduct a settlement conference. Plaintiff shall submit a demand letter to Defendant no later than 1/25/23, and Defendant will respond with an offer letter by 2/8/23. Both letters must comply with this Court's standing order and instructions governing settlement conferences and should be electronically submitted to the Court at Proposed_Order_Valdez@ilnd.uscourts.gov no later than 2/9/23. If after reviewing the letters the Court believes a settlement conference will be fruitful, the parties will be contacted with available dates. Mailed notice (lp, ) (Entered: 01/11/2023)

Jan. 11, 2023

Jan. 11, 2023

PACER
87

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: McDonald's raised the statute of limitations in its original motion to dismiss. (Dckt. No. 25 ) In a recent filing (before the filing of the second amended complaints), McDonald's reiterated that the timeliness of the claims remains an issue. (Dckt. No. 77 ) In particular, McDonald's dropped a footnote stating that many of the claims are time-barred, based on when the various plaintiffs exited the McDonald's franchise system. The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense. Even so, McDonald's has raised the issue, and the parties will need to address it one way or the other. Sooner is better than later. Presumably it is a knowable fact when any particular plaintiff left the McDonald's system. There is unlikely to be a dispute about that date, but if there is, it is helpful to know that, too. Also, pinning down when each of the plaintiffs left the McDonald's system may shed considerable light on the likely parameters of the cases (if they survive a motion to dismiss on other grounds). That's a long way of saying that the parties should pin down the facts to figure out what claims are likely untimely. Whittling down the case to remove any untimely claims helps everyone. To that end, the Court orders the following. By January 27, 2023, Plaintiffs' counsel must serve a user-friendly table or spreadsheet that identifies, with specificity, the date when each particular Plaintiff left the McDonald's franchise system. McDonald's must respond in writing by February 17, 2023. McDonald's must identify any areas of dispute, if any, and must flag (by Plaintiff) any claims that appear to be time barred. The goal is to figure out, sooner rather than later, what claims are likely time barred, and what claims are likely timely, before burning any additional resources on those claims. The parties must file a status report on the status of their discussions on that project by February 24, 2023. The parties must attach their respective spreadsheets/tables. Mailed notice (jjr, ) (Entered: 01/11/2023)

Jan. 11, 2023

Jan. 11, 2023

PACER
86

Pursuant to Local Rule 72.1, this case is hereby referred to the calendar of Honorable Maria Valdez for the purpose of holding proceedings related to: settlement conference.(jjr, )Mailed notice. (Entered: 01/11/2023)

Jan. 11, 2023

Jan. 11, 2023

PACER
85

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: McDonald's and the Ferraro Law firm have engaged in settlement discussions (Dckt. No. 76 ), and all parties have expressed a willingness to participate in a settlement conference. (Dckt. Nos. 76, 77 ) The Court hereby refers this case for a settlement conference to the designated Magistrate Judge. The presiding Magistrate Judge will be well-positioned to decide whether a full-blown settlement conference makes sense at this stage. The parties must file a status report no later than one week after the completion of a settlement conference (or an order by the Magistrate Judge concluding that a settlement conference is not likely a productive exercise at this point). Mailed notice (jjr, ) (Entered: 01/11/2023)

Jan. 11, 2023

Jan. 11, 2023

PACER
84

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: Defendants' motion for an extension of time to respond to the second amended complaints (Dckt. No. 80 ) is hereby granted as follows. On December 16, 2022, the King Plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint with 716 paragraphs, consuming 132 pages. (Dckt. No. 79 ) Not to be outdone, on December 16, 2022, the Manning Plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint with 836 paragraphs, weighing in at 158 pages. (Dckt. No. 78 ) Viewed together, the number of paragraphs in the two complaints has a comma in it. It can be a challenge to draft a complaint that includes the claims of dozens of individual plaintiffs. Even so, the complaints pushed the boundaries of what is permissible under the Federal Rules. (Every District Court Judge in the country has the same favorite word in the Federal Rules: "short." See Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a).) McDonald's needs significant time to respond to such significant filings. In the meantime, McDonald's filed a three-page motion to dismiss as a placeholder. That motion (Dckt. No. 82 ) is denied without prejudice, for administrative purposes only. The responses to the second amended complaints are due by March 31, 2023. If McDonald's elects to file motions to dismiss, McDonald's can refile the motion in each case and then file a supporting memorandum, too. A response period of that length is appropriate given the girth of the complaints, and given that Plaintiffs had two and a half months to file the second amended complaints after this Court's ruling on the motion to dismiss on September 28, 2022. The allotted time will give the parties time and space to have productive settlement discussions, too. Mailed notice (jjr, ) (Entered: 01/11/2023)

Jan. 11, 2023

Jan. 11, 2023

PACER
83

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: On November 11, 2022, this Court received two motions about the status of counsel for Plaintiffs. Counsel who filed the original complaint, the Ferraro Law Firm, requested a status hearing about "what appears to be a massive, active, and blanket solicitation of Ferraro Law's clients by another law firm, Loevy & Loevy." (Dckt. No. 72 ) Loevy & Loevy, for its part, filed a motion for substitution of counsel (Dckt. No. 71 ), seeking to represent the so-called "Crawford Plaintiffs." This Court then issued an Order directing counsel to meet and confer about the future representation of Plaintiffs, and report back with a joint statement about the plan going forward. (Dckt. No. 74 ) In their joint statement (Dckt. No. 76 ), the Ferraro Law Firm and Loevy & Loevy proposed that the Court sever the case, with separate complaints in separate case numbers. The Court agrees. To that end, on December 16, 2022, the Ferraro Law Firm filed a second amended complaint (the "King Complaint"), and so did Loevy & Loevy (the "Manning Complaint") (which includes the Crawfords, so the lingo has changed). See King Cplt. (Dckt. No. 79 ); Manning Cplt. (Dckt. No. 78 ). A single case can't have two operative complaints. And the individual plaintiffs want to pursue different complaints by different lawyers. The case is hereby severed. The King Complaint will stay put and remain with this case number (20-cv-5132). The Manning Complaint will have a new case number. The Court directs the Clerk's Office to open a new case, file the Manning Complaint (Dckt. No. 78 ) under that new case number, and designate the cases as related. The cases will stay on the same scheduling track. The Court will consolidate the two cases for discovery if need be (that statement is not suggestive about any motion to dismiss). Discovery in both cases remains stayed. Counsel, especially Plaintiffs' counsel, must make substantial efforts to coordinate the two cases to avoid unnecessary burdens and expense. Severance would not be a reason to double the amount of discovery aimed at McDonald's (e.g., severance will not expose McDonald's to 50 interrogatories, meaning twice the number contemplated by the Federal Rules, absent a showing of good cause). The Court will expect Plaintiffs' counsel to cooperate and coordinate their discovery requests (including depositions) to minimize the burdens imposed by two sets of Plaintiffs' lawyers. The motion to substitute counsel (Dckt. No. 71 ) and the motion for a status hearing (Dckt. No. 72 ) are hereby denied as moot. Mailed notice (jjr, ) (Entered: 01/11/2023)

Jan. 11, 2023

Jan. 11, 2023

PACER
89

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Maria Valdez: Remote attorneys-only settlement conference is set for 4/13/23 at 11:00 a.m. The Webex link will be sent at a later date, and counsel shall advise chambers as soon as possible if their contact information changes before the conference. Final settlement positions are due by 4/11/23. Failure to comply with the provisions of the Court's Standing Order may result in the unilateral cancellation of the settlement conference by the Court. THE FACT THAT A SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE HAS BEEN SCHEDULED DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE PARTIES SHOULD STOP ENGAGING IN SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS AMONG THEMSELVES. The Court finds that too often the parties put settlement talks on hold until the settlement conference with the Magistrate Judge. The Court expects that many cases can be resolved among the parties without the need for court-supervised mediation. If your informal discussions are unsuccessful, the Court will conduct the conference but will expect the parties to apprise her of the status of their ongoing settlement discussions. Because of the volume of settlement conferences conducted by Judge Valdez, once a settlement conference date has been agreed upon, no continuance will be granted without a motion showing extreme hardship. Mailed notice (lp, ) (Entered: 02/17/2023)

Feb. 17, 2023

Feb. 17, 2023

PACER
90

STATUS Report Joint by Lewis Anderson, Victor Bruce, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Bonnie GIpson, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Faye Hobley, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, George Jones, Jane Jones, LaMonika Jones, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Joyce Mance-Roan, John Mason, Kenneth Nelson, Gary Roan, Bernard Saffold, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Michael Simon, John Tillman, Marcia Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., Barbara White, David White (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A- The Ferraro Law Firms Plaintiffs McDonalds Franchise System Exit Dates, # 2 Exhibit B- Defendants' Statute of Limitations Spreadsheet)(Ferraro, James) (Entered: 02/24/2023)

Feb. 24, 2023

Feb. 24, 2023

PACER
91

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: The Court reviewed the joint status report about the statute of limitations, as well as the accompanying spreadsheets. (Dckt. No. 90 ) This Court directed the parties to "pin down" when each Plaintiff left the McDonald's system. In particular, this Court directed Plaintiffs' counsel to "serve a user-friendly table or spreadsheet that identifies, with specificity," the date "when each particular Plaintiff left the McDonald's franchise system." (Dckt. No. 87 ) Plaintiffs responded by serving a spreadsheet that provided only the year. Plaintiffs' response was underwhelming, inadequate, and non-compliant. If someone asked you what date it is, you probably wouldn't answer "2023." Giving the year might be good enough if, say, someone asked when you graduated from college. But it is not good enough when the goal of an exercise is to "pin down" the statute of limitations. The day matters when figuring out if a claim is timely. And, in a franchise context, it is usually easy to pin down when, exactly, the franchisor/franchisee relationship ended. It is not the sort of thing that is left up in the air or loosey-goosey. It presumably is written down in a franchise agreement, or some other contract. So, Plaintiffs must do it again. Plaintiffs must serve a supplemental spreadsheet by March 10, 2023. If they do not know anything about their departure date, other than the year, then they must say so, with a supporting declaration from each Plaintiff. Unlike Plaintiffs, McDonald's did offer a date-certain when each Plaintiff left the system. McDonald's pointed to the "Defendants' Documented Exit Date." (Dckt. No. [90-2]) By March 15, 2023, McDonald's must produce documents supporting the departure dates in its spreadsheet. Plaintiffs must serve a responsive spreadsheet by March 29, 2023. For each Plaintiff, if Plaintiffs has reason to dispute the dates in the spreadsheet by McDonald's, Plaintiffs must explain why. The parties must meet and confer, and must file an updated status report with the accompanying spreadsheets by April 5, 2023. The Court expects compliance in good faith. Plaintiffs' last effort was inadequate, so the Court expects more compliance on the second go-around. The Court offers one last observation. The parties stated that they "disagree over... whether such issues are ripe for resolution at the motion to dismiss stage prior to discovery." (Dckt. No. 90 ) The issue is ripe because the Court said that it is ripe. Or, at the very least, this Court will help it ripen on the vine. District courts have expansive authority to manage their dockets, streamline cases, and narrow the issues as they see fit. That power can include trimming cases of claims that do not belong, and that are destined to hit the exits of the courthouse. There is no point in having time-barred claims hang around, because they will simply add dead weight to the case. The Court wants to get to the bottom of this issue sooner rather than later, before consuming untold resources for potentially time-barred claims. It is true that the statute of limitations is an affirmative defense, and that the statute of limitations is not normally an issue at the motion-to-dismiss stage (unless the face of the complaint shows that it is time barred). Even so, the Federal Rules allow early motions for summary judgment. And, this Court has the discretion to authorize multiple rounds of summary judgment motions, including an early motion for summary judgment on the statute of limitations, and a later motion for summary judgment on everything else. Plaintiffs point to a possible argument about tolling, but that's neither here nor there. Step one is to figure out if something needs to be tolled in the first place. So, the Court directs all parties to engage in this process in good faith. A failure to comply will lead to appropriate relief. Emailed notice (cdh, ) (Entered: 02/27/2023)

Feb. 27, 2023

Feb. 27, 2023

PACER
92

MOTION by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. for protective order (Joint Motion) (Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 03/15/2023)

March 15, 2023

March 15, 2023

PACER
94

AGREED JOINT CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER FOR THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS PROJECT Signed by the Honorable Steven C. Seeger on 3/20/2023. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 03/20/2023)

March 20, 2023

March 20, 2023

PACER
93

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: The joint motion for a protective order for the statute of limitations project (Dckt. No. 92 ) is hereby granted. Confidentiality Order to follow. Mailed notice (jjr, ) (Entered: 03/20/2023)

March 20, 2023

March 20, 2023

PACER
95

MOTION by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. for leave to file excess pages in Support of 12(b) Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint (Wilson, Ariel) (Entered: 03/28/2023)

March 28, 2023

March 28, 2023

PACER
97

MEMORANDUM by McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. in support of Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim 96 (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2)(Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 03/31/2023)

March 31, 2023

March 31, 2023

PACER
96

MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM by Defendants McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. (Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 03/31/2023)

March 31, 2023

March 31, 2023

PACER
98

STATUS Report re Statute of Limitations Project, Filed Jointly by McDonald's Corporation, McDonald's USA, LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B)(Holmes, Patricia) (Entered: 04/05/2023)

April 5, 2023

April 5, 2023

PACER
99

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: Defendant's motion for extra pages (Dckt. No. 95 ) is hereby granted. The response to the motion to dismiss is due by May 5, 2023. The reply is due by May 26, 2023. Mailed notice (jjr, ) (Entered: 04/06/2023)

April 6, 2023

April 6, 2023

PACER
100

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Maria Valdez: Attorneys-only settlement conference held on 4/13/23. The Court concludes that a full settlement conference would not be fruitful. If the parties wish to schedule another conference at any time, they may request a referral from the District Judge. All matters relating to the referral of this action having been resolved, the case is returned to the assigned judge. Mailed notice (lp, ) (Entered: 04/13/2023)

April 13, 2023

April 13, 2023

PACER
101

MOTION by Plaintiffs Lewis Anderson, Victor Bruce, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Bonnie GIpson, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Faye Hobley, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, George Jones, Jane Jones, LaMonika Jones, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Joyce Mance-Roan, John Mason, Kenneth Nelson, Gary Roan, Bernard Saffold, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Michael Simon, John Tillman, Marcia Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., Barbara White, David White for extension of time of Current Briefing Schedule (Joint), MOTION by Plaintiffs Lewis Anderson, Victor Bruce, Philip Douglas, Hayes Ferrell, Bonnie GIpson, George Gipson, Lisa Gunter, Faye Hobley, Gloria Holloway, Keristin Holloway, Michele Hoskins, Paul Hoskins, George Jones, Jane Jones, LaMonika Jones, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Melvin Jones, Ralph King, Yvonne Knox, Joyce Mance-Roan, John Mason, Kenneth Nelson, Gary Roan, Bernard Saffold, Arthur Scott, Errol Service, Michael Simon, John Tillman, Marcia Tillman, Darryl Umphries, LeRoy Walker, Jr., Barbara White, David White for leave to file excess pages for the Opposition and Reply Briefs to Defendants' Motions to Dismiss (Joint) (Ferraro, James) (Entered: 05/01/2023)

May 1, 2023

May 1, 2023

PACER

Case Details

State / Territory: Illinois

Case Type(s):

Public Accommodations/Contracting

Special Collection(s):

Multi-LexSum (in sample)

Key Dates

Filing Date: Aug. 31, 2020

Case Ongoing: Yes

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

77 Black McDonald's franchisees who have operated stores across the country

Plaintiff Type(s):

Private Plaintiff

Public Interest Lawyer: No

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

McDonald's USA, LLC, Private Entity/Person

Defendant Type(s):

Restaurant

Case Details

Causes of Action:

42 U.S.C. § 1981

State law

Available Documents:

Trial Court Docket

Complaint (any)

Outcome

Prevailing Party: None Yet / None

Nature of Relief:

None yet

Source of Relief:

None yet

Issues

Discrimination-area:

Contracting

Discrimination-basis:

Race discrimination

Race:

Black