amended complaint by October 31, 2016. On October 31, 2016, the plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint, and on January 25, 2017, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the
second amended complaint. On June 13, 2017, the Court granted the Companys motion to dismiss with prejudice. Plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. On April 11, 2018, the
Court of Appeals reversed the District Courts decision granting the motion to dismiss the case, and remanded the case to the District Court for further proceedings. The Company filed with the Court of Appeals a petition for rehearing and
rehearing en banc; that petition was denied on May 10, 2018. The case is currently pending in the District Court.
Cassandra Carag individually and on behalf of others similarly situated v. Barnes & Noble, Inc., Barnes & Noble
Booksellers, Inc. and DOES 1 through 100 inclusive
On November 27, 2013, former Associate Store Manager Cassandra Carag
(Carag) brought suit in Sacramento County Superior Court, asserting claims on behalf of herself and all other hourly
(non-exempt)
Barnes & Noble employees in California in the preceding four years for
unpaid regular and overtime wages based on alleged
off-the-clock
work, penalties and pay based on missed meal and rest breaks, and for improper wage statements, payroll
records, and untimely pay at separation as a result of the alleged pay errors during employment. Via the complaint, Carag seeks to recover unpaid wages and statutory penalties for all hourly Barnes & Noble employees within California from
November 27, 2009 to present. On February 13, 2014, the Company filed an answer to the complaint in the state court and concurrently requested removal of the action to federal court. On May 30, 2014, the federal court granted
Plaintiffs motion to remand the case to state court and denied Plaintiffs motion to strike portions of the answer to the complaint (referring the latter motion to the lower court for future consideration). The Court has not yet scheduled
any further hearings or deadlines.
Café Manager Class Actions
On September 20, 2016, Kelly Brown filed a complaint against Barnes & Noble in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District
of New York in which she alleges that she is entitled to unpaid compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Illinois law. Ms. Brown seeks to represent a class of allegedly similarly situated employees who performed the same
position (Café Manager) under the FLSA, as well as an Illinois-based class under Illinois law. On November 9, 2016, Ms. Brown filed an amended complaint to add an additional plaintiff named Tiffany Stewart, who is a former
Café Manager who also alleges unpaid overtime compensation in violation of New York law and seeks to represent a class of similarly situated New York-based Café Managers under New York law. On May 2, 2017, the Court denied
Plaintiffs Motion for Conditional Certification, without prejudice. The Plaintiffs filed a renewed motion for Conditional Certification on November 17, 2017, which the Court denied on June 25, 2018. There are currently 23 former
Café Managers who have joined the action as
opt-in
plaintiffs.
Bernardino v.
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc.
On June 16, 2017, a putative class action complaint was filed against
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc. (B&N Booksellers) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging violations of the federal Video Privacy Protection Act and related New York law. The plaintiff, who
seeks to represent a class of subscribers of Facebook, Inc. (Facebook) who purchased DVDs or other video media from the Barnes & Noble website, seeks damages, injunctive relief and attorneys fees, among other things, based on her
allegation that B&N Booksellers supposedly knowingly disclosed her personally identifiable information to Facebook without her consent when she bought a DVD from Barnes & Nobles website. On July 10, 2017, the plaintiff moved
for a preliminary injunction requiring Barnes & Noble to change the operation of its website, which motion B&N Booksellers opposed. On July 31, 2017, B&N Booksellers moved to compel the case to arbitration, consistent with the
terms of use on Barnes & Nobles website. On August 28, 2017, the court denied the plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction. On January 31, 2018, the court granted B&N Booksellers motion to compel
arbitration, and the clerk of court closed the case on February 1, 2018. On March 5, 2018, the plaintiff filed an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from the district courts grant of B&N
Booksellers motion to compel arbitration.
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