19 TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATE OF LOUISIANA CASE No.: C599055 DIV. 24 MICHAEL SULLIVAN, CHARLES BALDWIN, JOHNNY KNIGHTEN, JIMMY PHILLIPS AND RON DICKERSON, Individually and as Class Representatives vs. THE WORLEY COMPANIES, WORLEY CATASTROPHE SERVICES, L.L.C., WORLEY CATASTROPHE RESPONSE, L.L.C., AND CLAIMS LIQUIDATING, L.L.C., formerly known as Worley Claims Services of Louisiana, Inc. NOTICE OF CONTRACT-BASED CLASS ACTION TO: RE: All current and former employees of Worley Catastrophe Response, LLC, and/or Worley Catastrophe Services, LLC (collectively Worley ), who (1) signed an employment Agreement and occupied the position(s) of claims adjuster (a/k/a claims evaluator) in support of Worley s role in providing services related to business and property damages arising from the 2010 explosion at the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig operated by BP Corporation North America, Inc. ( BP ) and (2) who did not execute a Receipt and Release Agreement in connection with the settlements of either ALTIER V. WORLEY, CASE NOS. 11-241 AND 11-242, EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA; OR AKINS V. WORLEY, CASE NO. 2:12-CV-2401, EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA. Class Lawsuit Filed Against Worley alleging breach of employment Agreement (the Class Action ). 1. INTRODUCTION. The purpose of this Notice is (1) to inform you of the existence of a Class Action lawsuit, in which you are potentially a class member, seeking additional wages and any remedies resulting from an alleged breach of contract, from Worley for alleged breach of the wage agreement in a written employment Agreement to perform general adjusting services in connection with the BP- Deepwater Horizon Oil spill; (2) to advise you of how your rights may be affected by this lawsuit; and (3) to instruct you on the procedure for participating in this lawsuit, should you decide that it is appropriate and should you choose to do so. Please read this notice carefully, as it may affect rights to the extent you may have any with respect to the Class Action. Page 1 of 6
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE LAWSUIT. On February 7, 2011, lead Plaintiffs, Michael Sullivan, Charles Baldwin, Johnny Knighten, Jimmy Phillips, and Ron Dickerson filed suit in the 19 th Judicial District Court for the Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana, against Worley on behalf of themselves, and potentially all other current and former claims adjusters who signed an employment Agreement and worked for Worley as a claims adjuster on the project sometimes referred to as the BP Oil Spill that occurred in 2010. Subsequently, the following additional plaintiffs were added as plaintiffs: Leonard Blackman, Alicia Goerlitz, Daniel J. King, Arthur Reinaur, Kimberly Reinaur, Olga Souders, Doug Taylor, Alexia Watkins, Hardy Wendenburg, John White, William Haygood, Traci Overmyer, Jeff Sisco, Michael Beasley, T Sura M. Simpson, William Nelson Hall, and Ronald Sorenson. This lawsuit alleges that the Plaintiffs, and any potential class members, are owed additional pay pursuant to their written employment Agreements with Worley providing that for the work they performed they would be paid 65% of the total fee amount of the invoice billed to ESIS, BP, and/or the Gulf Coast Claims Facility ( GCCF ), as the case may be. The Class Action is currently in the pre-trial stages. Worley has denied the Plaintiffs allegations, and, among other defenses, contends (1) that the insurance services agreement (referred to as the employment Agreement by Plaintiffs) did not govern the relationship between Worley and the claims adjusters employed on the BP Oil Spill Project; (2) that the insurance services agreement applies only to insurance claims adjusting, not to non-insurance projects (such as the BP Oil Spill Project), (3) that the claims adjusters on the BP Oil Spill Project were not paid on a percentage per file basis for environmental projects (such as the BP Oil Spill Project); (4) that the percentage per file method of compensation is used primarily for insurance claims projects and is calculated based on each individual file billed and payment received for that file; and (5) that the claims adjusters on the BP Oil Spill Project were paid pursuant to an oral agreement wherein the adjusters agreed that their compensation would be computed based on a flat daily rate for their professional claims adjusting services on the BP Oil Spill Project. 3. WHO CAN TAKE PART IN THE LAWSUIT? You can take part in the Class Action seeking additional wages if both of these sentences describe you: -AND- (A) You worked as a claims adjuster for Worley on the BP Oil Spill Project; (B) You signed a written employment Agreement with Worley. HOWEVER, IF YOU EXECUTED A RECEIPT AND RELEASE AGREEMENT IN CONNECTION WITH THE SETTLEMENTS OF EITHER ALTIER V. WORLEY, CASE NOS. 11-241 AND 11-242, EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA; OR AKINS V. WORLEY, CASE NO. 2:12-CV-2401, EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA, YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS CLASS ACTION. Page 2 of 6
4. CLASS ACTION CERTIFICATION AND RIGHT TO OPT OUT. The court has determined that the claims of the lead Plaintiffs may be asserted as a Class Action. The trial court approved providing notice to all potential class members to give them the opportunity to exclude themselves from participation in this Class Action before a liability determination can be made. THE TRIAL COURT S DETERMINATION THAT THE MATTER MAY PROCEED AS A CLASS ACTION DOES NOT MEAN THAT ANY MONEY OR OTHER RELIEF WILL BE OBTAINED FOR MEMBERS OF THE CLASS BECAUSE THESE ARE CONTESTED ISSUES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN DECIDED. The lead Plaintiffs are asserting claims on behalf of a class of all current or former employees of Worley who signed a written employment Agreement with Worley and occupied the position of claims adjuster in support of Worley s role in providing claims adjusting services related to loss of business and property damage claims arising from the 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig. If you signed a written employment Agreement with Worley and performed general adjusting services for Worley on the BP Oil Spill Project, you have two options: (1) become a member of the class or (2) opt out of the class. Option One - Becoming a Member of the Class. In order to become a member of the class, there is no need for you to do anything. If you do nothing (meaning you do not send a written statement opting not to participate in the class as set forth in Option 2), you WILL automatically be included in the suit against Worley for additional pay pursuant to your written employment Agreement. Your decision to remain in the suit, which requires no affirmative action on your part, will mean that you have acquiesced to the suit being adjudicated in the 19 th Judicial District Court where the lead Plaintiffs elected to file suit and Worley has made an appearance. The written employment Agreement at issue contains a forum selection clause [East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana] and a choice of law clause [state laws of Louisiana]. Under Louisiana law, the forum selection and choice of law clauses contained in the employment Agreement Plaintiffs claim is applicable to this matter are null and void, except where the choice of forum or choice of law clause is expressly, knowingly, and voluntarily agreed to and ratified by the employee after the occurrence of the incident which is the subject of the civil or administrative action. If you wish to have your claim adjudicated separately in some other venue or assert that the employment Agreement is to be governed by the law of some other state or if you otherwise do not agree to and ratify the choice of forum and choice of law clauses, you may do so by electing Option Two set out below. Otherwise, by doing nothing and thus becoming a member of this Class Action, you will be deemed to have expressly, knowingly, and voluntarily agreed to and ratified the forum selection and choice of law provisions of the employment Agreement at issue. You may want to consult an attorney of your own choosing concerning your right to file this lawsuit in a different location and to discuss whether the law of a different state may apply. Option Two - Right to Opt Out of Class Action. You choose not to be part of this Class Action. To make that choice you must send in a written statement evidencing your intent TO NOT PARTICIPATE in this Class Action. You would thereby opt out of this Class Action lawsuit against Worley for breach of contract. However, you will retain the right to file a separate lawsuit for an individual claim in another venue (provided another venue is a proper forum to litigate your claims). You have the option of consulting with counsel of your own choosing, at your expense, or class counsel regarding the ramifications Page 3 of 6
of choosing to litigate your claims in Louisiana. To exclude yourself from this Class Action, you must send a statement, such as the one attached for your convenience, evidencing your intent to opt out of, or that is to NOT PARTICIPATE in the Class Action, in writing, no later than November 30, 2015, to the following: WORLEY CLASS ACTION EXCLUSIONS Postlethwaite & Netterville PO Box 82565 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70884 Telephone: 1-800-631-7923 Facsimile: (225) 922-4611 If you do not send a statement on or before November 30, 2015, you WILL be a participant in the Class Action and will be deemed to have expressly, knowingly, and voluntarily agreed to and ratified the forum selection and choice of law provisions of the Agreement at issue. 5. EFFECTS OF JOINING THIS SUIT. If you join in this lawsuit, you will be bound by the Judgment that is ultimately rendered in this matter, whether it is favorable or unfavorable. Additionally, you may be required to take further action as the court deems necessary, such as submitting a proof of claim in order to participate in any recovery had by the class, responding to written questions, sitting for depositions, and/or testifying in court. The attorneys for this Class Action are being paid on a contingency fee basis, which means that if there is no recovery, there will be no attorneys fees owed to them by you. If there is a recovery, the law allows, but may not require, that a reasonable attorneys fee be paid by the defendant(s) to the class participants. The court may also award all costs incurred by the attorneys for the class participants in this action. Alternatively, the attorneys for the Class Action group may receive a part of the settlement obtained or money judgment entered in favor of all members of the class. You may be required to take further action as the court deems necessary, such as submitting a proof of claim in order to participate in any recovery had by the class. If you do not elect to opt out of the class, and thereby participate in the suit as a member of the class, you may individually enter an appearance in this matter through counsel of your own choosing. By joining this lawsuit, you designate the Class Action group representatives, i.e. the lead Plaintiffs, as your agents to make decisions on your behalf concerning the litigation, the method and manner of conducting this litigation, and all other matters pertaining to this lawsuit. These decisions and agreements made and entered into by the lead Plaintiffs will be binding upon you if you join this lawsuit. 6. NO LEGAL EFFECT IN NOT JOINING THE SUIT. If you choose not to join this suit by sending notice of same as described above, you will not be affected by any judgment or settlement rendered in this case, whether favorable or unfavorable to the class action group; and you are free to file your own lawsuit under the applicable law for breach of contract. Page 4 of 6
7. YOUR LEGAL REPRESENTATION IF YOU JOIN. If you choose to join this suit, your interests will be represented by the lead Plaintiffs, through their attorneys, as counsel for the class action group. Counsel for the class are: COLVIN, SMITH & MCKAY James H. Colvin, Jr. (La. Bar # 21352) Cole Smith (La. Bar # 30063) P. O. Box 1831, 71166 900 Market Street, Suite 300 Shreveport, Louisiana 71101 Telephone: (318) 429-6770 Facsimile: (318) 429-6771 THE CERNIGLIA LAW FIRM Timothy W. Cerniglia (La. Bar #3964) 1521 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 Telephone: (504) 586-0555 Facsimile: (504) 586-0550 HYMEL, DAVIS & PETERSEN, LLC L.J. Hymel, (La. Bar # 7137) 10602 Coursey Boulevard Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816 Telephone: (225) 298-8118 Facsimile: (225) 298-8119 8. COUNSEL FOR WORLEY. The attorneys for Worley Catastrophe Response, LLC and Worley Catastrophe Services, LLC are: Jennifer L. Anderson (La. Bar # 23620) L. Ashley Bynum (La. Bar # 34473) JONES WALKER LLP Four United Plaza 8555 United Plaza Boulevard Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809 Telephone: (225) 248-2000 Facsimile: (225) 248-2010 Mary Margaret Spell LeBato (La. Bar # 32704) JONES WALKER LLP 201 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, Louisiana 70170-5100 Telephone: (504) 582-8000 Facsimile: (504) 582-8583 Page 5 of 6
James R. Lewis (La. Bar # 8844) Crawford Lewis 450 Laurel Street, Suite 1600 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70801 Telephone: (225) 343-5290 Facsimile: (225) 383-5508 9. FURTHER INFORMATION. Do not call the Clerk of Court or the Court regarding this Notice; further information about this Notice or questions concerning this Notice may be obtained by contacting the court approved Notice Administrator: Postlethwaite & Netterville ATTN: Dustin Mire PO Box 82565 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70884 Email: info@oilspilladjusterlitigation.com Telephone: 1-800-631-7923 Facsimile: (225) 922-4611 If you have chosen to ratify the choice of law and forum provisions of the employment Agreement, questions concerning participation in this lawsuit may be directed to Plaintiffs counsel at any of the numbers and addresses listed above. You may also consult an attorney of your own choosing, or obtain more information by visiting www.oilspilladjusterlitigation.com. THIS NOTICE AND ITS CONTENT HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE HONORABLE R. MICHAEL CALDWELL, DISTRICT JUDGE, NINETEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE, STATE OF LOUISIANA. Page 6 of 6