Notice of Dispute and Claimant Statement
I, , have, or formerly had, a Shipt Shopper account.
The email address I used to complete the Shipt Shopper sign-up process is and the address I provided is .
Within the last three years, I completed the sign-up process to become a Shopper with Shipt, Inc. (“Shipt”). I created a Shipt Shopper account by providing an e-mail address, along with my first and last name. My Shopper application was accepted and I was approved to make grocery deliveries for Shipt. I downloaded and used the Shipt Shopper App to make grocery deliveries. This Shipt Shopper account belongs, or belonged, to me and not to a third party.
I would like to pursue my unpaid wage, misclassification and unreimbursed expense claims through an arbitration administered by the arbitral tribunal identified in my Shipt Independent Contractor Service Agreement For Shoppers (“Agreement”), or any other forum that the below-referenced attorneys believe my claim should be filed or administered. In order to work as a Shipt Shopper, I was required to agree to Shipt’s Agreement, including the requirement that all disputes arising from or relating to the subject matter of the Agreement—including the claims I seek to pursue herein—are subject to binding arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Rules and Procedures of the identified arbitral tribunal.
I authorize my attorneys: (1) Don Bivens PLLC and (2) the Working Solutions Law Firm to act as my legal counsel in connection with above-referenced claims that I have against Shipt. I consent to receiving messages from, and communicating with, my attorneys and their agents by text and email. I also authorize Don Bivens PLLC and the Working Solutions Law Firm to obtain any and all information or documents that may be contained in public or private files relating to my dispute with Shipt, including information or documents held by Shipt or third parties. This authorization is valid during the time period that Don Bivens PLLC and the Working Solutions Law Firm act as my counsel in connection with such claims.
I further authorize Don Bivens PLLC and the Working Solutions Law Firm to provide Shipt with: (a) my name, address, and phone number; (b) a description of the nature and basis of the claim or dispute; and (c) an explanation of the relief sought from Shipt.
By signing below, I declare under penalty of perjury under the law of the United States of America that this information is true and correct.
Executed On:
10/07/2024
CLAIMANT SIGNATURE: x
CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION
Re: Retainer Agreement,
Dear :
This letter confirms the agreement under which you (the Client) have jointly engaged the Law Office of Christopher Q. Davis, PLLC dba Working Solutions Law Firm (“Davis”) and Don Bivens PLLC (“Bivens”) (together “the Firms”) to represent you in connection with certain wage and misclassification-related claims as a Shopper in arbitration proceedings against Shipt, Inc. (“Shipt”) and related entities.
You are our client for the purposes of this representation.
We will represent you in connection with your federal claims for unpaid minimum wage and misclassification under § 7434(a) and, where applicable by state, minimum wage, unlawful straight/gap time, unlawful deduction, failure to pay or reimburse business expenses, break and meal violation, pay statement and pay notice claims against Shipt (the “Company”) and any related contract or quasi-contract claims. This retainer agreement does not include representation for retaliation claims or any other unrelated claims. This agreement covers representation before the arbitration panel identified in your Independent Contractor Services Agreement with the Company only. This retainer does not include representation for an appeal of your arbitration outcome, representation before any city, state or federal equal opportunity or human rights agency, or for litigation before a city, state or federal court.
The Firms’ representation of you will terminate with the resolution of the issues in this matter whether by settlement, stipulation, judgment, arbitrators’ award, dismissal, non-prosecution by the arbitral forum, or otherwise, unless a separate written retainer agreement is executed to expand the scope of work. The Firms’ representation includes obtaining a judgment, but if collections efforts are needed, it does not include enforcement actions such as judgment enforcements.
______________________________
The Law Office of Christopher Q. Davis is located in New York. Don Bivens, PLLC is located in Arizona.
In any legal matter there is a possibility of a disappointing outcome despite the attorney’s best efforts. The outcome of negotiations and litigation is subject to many factors that cannot always be foreseen. You understand that the Firms have not made any promises or guarantees to you concerning the outcome of this arbitration and cannot do so. Nothing in this agreement or in any discussions with you can be construed as a promise or guarantee of an outcome.
Instead of paying fees as they are incurred, you have chosen to pay on a “contingency” basis. You will pay no retainer fee for this matter, and the Firms’ fee for professional services will be contingent on the results obtained. The contingency fee will be equal to one-third (33.33%) of the gross recovery obtained on your behalf. The term “gross recovery” means the total amounts of any settlement, award, judgment, or other recovery, including prevailing party attorneys’ fees, obtained on your behalf after the date this retainer is signed by both parties. The phrase “total amounts” includes the anticipated risk adjusted return of any non-cash investment, equity, profit sharing, or benefits recovered on your behalf, including, but not limited to, grants of securities, options, or equity; profit sharing, retirement plan, or pension plan participation; and reinstatement or extension of benefits. It also includes the present-day value of any debt forgiveness obtained on your behalf, and the reasonable value of any reinstatement offer.
Gross recovery does not include any severance or settlement amounts offered to you before our representation of you that were the not the product of the Firms’ efforts. However, if a severance or settlement amount extended to you prior to our representation of you expires or is withdrawn before you sign this retainer, it will be included in the gross recovery. If you obtain no remedy, the Firms will receive no compensation.
During the course of this engagement, there may be expenses which the Firms must incur to represent you such as filing fees, postage, transcription fees, mediation and arbitration costs and fees, messenger services, overnight mail, transportation, and other disbursements. The fee arrangement discussed above does not include these expenditures. You will be obligated to pay these amounts directly up front before the expense is incurred, or, if in the firms’ exclusive discretion, the Firms pay for the expenses on your behalf, the Firms will reimburse themselves for the cost of the advanced expenses from the portion of any amounts that you receive after the attorneys’ fees discussed above are deducted. If you do not obtain any recovery, you will not be required to pay these expenses.
If you prevail in this matter, you authorize the Firms to pursue a motion to require the opposing party to pay attorneys’ fees and expenses. You agree to assign to the Firms any fees and expenses that are awarded as a result. You agree to direct that any payment for attorneys’ fees and expenses be issued to one of the two Firms (to be identified by the attorneys) and mailed to that Firm’s address or direct deposited into that Firm’s bank account. If fees and expenses are issued directly to you, you authorize the Firms to endorse your name to any check, insurance draft, or settlement draft only for the purpose of depositing the check or draft into the Firms’ account.
If you prevail in this matter and the Firms obtain attorneys’ fees pursuant to an award, the Firms may in their sole discretion choose a fee of either (i) a one-third contingency fee of the total recovery including the fee award; or (ii) the full amount of the fee award.
Your two law firms, Davis and Bivens, have agreed between them that any attorneys’ fees that may result from this case will be divided (50%) to Davis and (50%) to Bivens. Davis and his lawyers will serve as the lead lawyers in this case with primary responsibility for handling substantive arbitration proceedings, settlement efforts including mediation, and, if needed, trial proceedings before the arbitration panel. Bivens will play a greater role in client development, including the vetting of qualified clients. Bivens will also consult with Davis on all major aspects of this case, including pleadings, motions, discovery, settlement discussions and, if necessary, the arbitration of your case. Both Davis and Bivens believe that this division of fees is reasonable in light of their respective responsibilities and the need to represent you competently and diligently. You consent to this division of fees and responsibilities.
You agree to be available to the Firms and to participate in all activities required to conduct the case in a professional and effective manner, including providing necessary information, locating witnesses, documents, and evidence; submitting to depositions and examinations; appearing for arbitration proceedings, informing the Firms of any facts that may have a bearing on the case; and promptly returning telephone calls, text messages and emails.
You agree to preserve all documents and data relating to the case including any written, recorded, or graphic material, whether prepared by you or any other person, that is in your possession, custody, or control, for example: software or application data (including data in the Shipt Shopper application on your phone), memoranda, reports, letters, contracts, photographs, charts, audio or video recordings, drafts, electronic mail, screenshots, other electronic material, or any other information recorded in any form or medium. You must retain any devices where this information has been stored that are in your custody or control, including laptops, cellphones or handheld personal digital assistants, desktop computers, hard drives, recording devices, or other devices even if these devices are no longer operational. If you have a practice of deleting email, phone applications, or other data, you agree to suspend that practice regarding materials relating to this case.
Unless the Firms otherwise specifically request, all documents and data you provide to the Firms must be photocopies or other reproductions of documents that you maintain in your possession (you must keep your own file and all originals). We will not accept originals. This is to protect against the unlikely possibility that your file or any of the contents thereof is lost, stolen, or destroyed.
If you would like to obtain a copy of your file once this matter is complete, you must email or send written and signed instructions regarding where you would like the file sent; otherwise, those files will be destroyed in the normal course of business subject to professional ethical obligations regarding client record retention.
You agree to cooperate and participate fully in this matter and to truthfully and immediately notify the Firms of all information that could affect representation. You also understand that the Firms are relying on the facts as given to us by you. Failure to cooperate with these obligations may result of termination of representation.
The primary attorneys assigned to your matter are Brendan Sweeney, Rachel Haskell, Christopher Davis, and Don Bivens. The Firms will assemble the team best suited to serve your needs at each stage of this matter. This team may include other attorneys, paralegals, litigation or clerical assistants, or law clerks inside the Firms. The Firms may share with these individuals information about your case as necessary for them to carry out their responsibilities. All non-firm personnel are subject to the Firms’ ongoing supervision and applicable ethics regulations.
To enhance the efficiency of our practice, the Firms use a variety of technology, including third-party cloud-based platforms to store documents, communicate with clients, and for other activities. We have exercised due care in selecting vendors whose security and management practices meet or exceed applicable ethics requirements, and we engage in ongoing monitoring and oversight of their services. You consent to the Firms’ use of these services to store your files, communicate with you, and carry out other necessary tasks related to our representation of you.
We retain many file documents in electronic format only. We will therefore send you each document that is relevant to your case by email, filesharing application, or text, unless the document exists only in paper and has not been scanned.
You are responsible for providing us with an email address and cell phone number that you want us to use for correspondence relating to our representation of you. That email address should not be one provided by your employer. In addition, you should not use your employer’s computers or any other of your employer’s devices, public computers (such as computers at a public library), or any other devices that may not be secure to communicate with us, because that may waive the confidentiality of our communications. Please let us know if we should not communicate with you by email or even regular mail because of a risk that these communications might be read by others. We will not waive the attorney-client privilege without your written consent.
You should check your email and text messages regularly. We will assume that third parties do not have access to that email address or phone number and, therefore, that you can receive confidential correspondence from us at that address. We will assume that you are receiving and reviewing our emails at that address unless you alert us to an issue. Please make sure that emails from our office are not being blocked and that the allowable size of incoming emails will permit us to send emails with attachments. Please keep copies of all emails sent to or received from us. By signing this agreement, you give consent to our Firm to contact you by email, text or telephone. Failure to return our calls, emails, or text messages may result in termination of representation.
If you wish to contact the Firms in relation to your claims or their representation of you, please email ShopperInfo@donbivens.com, or call or text Working Solutions Law Firm at +1 (646) 693-3594 or Don Bivens PLLC at +1 (602) 762-2661.
Either party may terminate the representation at any time, subject to our obligations under the Rules of Professional Conduct. If we terminate the engagement, we will take reasonably practicable steps to protect your interests and we will cooperate as necessary with any successor counsel.
If the representation is terminated, the Firms will stop performing legal services for you but may be entitled to a charging lien against the case for payment of legal services the Firms have provided and any costs the Firms have paid. This offer of retention will expire in 60 days unless executed by both parties before midnight on the 60th day.
The laws of the State of Arizona shall govern the interpretation of this agreement.
Fee disputes are heard by the local program that handles disputes in the county where the majority of the services are performed. Services in your matter will be performed in the states of Arizona and New York. Presently, it is unknown in which state the majority of the legal services will be performed. By executing this letter, the Client and the Firms agree that if a dispute arises as to the attorneys’ fee for legal services, we will resolve the dispute by binding arbitration conducted via the State Bar of Arizona Fee Arbitration Program ("the Program”). Even if the majority of the legal services are conducted in New York, the Client and the Firms nonetheless agree that that in the event a dispute should arise as to the attorney’s fee for legal services, the dispute will not be resolved by arbitration pursuant to Part 137 of the Rules of the Chief Administrator of the Courts (22 NYCRR) and instead agree to arbitration under the Program. Client has received a copy of and been advised of the Rules of the Part 137 Fee Dispute Program and the Program. Client has read these rules and understands that, if the majority of the legal services are performed in New York State, he or she has the right to file a fee dispute under Part 137 and is not required to pursue her fee dispute via the Program, but nonetheless consents to the Program fee arbitration process.
The purpose of the Program is to provide a forum for the binding arbitration of attorney-client fee disputes. A fee dispute is defined as a disagreement between a client and the lawyer charging the fees regarding the reasonableness of legal fees and/or expenses arising out of a representation
See https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2018-04/Standards.pdf for Part 137 rules and https://www.azbar.org/media/fwijantl/fee-arb-rules-5-18-18.pdf for the Program rules.
concerning or involving an Arizona legal matter. Arbitration is a process by which both parties to a dispute agree to submit the matter to a single arbitrator and abide by the arbitrator’s decision. There are several important differences between a court proceeding and an arbitration. For instance, in an arbitration there is no right to a trial by jury or appellate review; the rules of evidence and procedure are less formal; there is typically less discovery and no right to compel production of witnesses; and the proceeding is typically less public. Arbitration usually results in a decision much more quickly than proceedings in court.
In the event of a fee dispute, the Firms and the Client agree (1) to attempt to resolve the dispute through informal arm’s length conference; (2) in the event those efforts fail, to execute and submit an Agreement to Arbitrate in the form provided by the State Bar which can be found here: Agreement to Arbitrate Form. The party who initiated the fee dispute will file the completed form with the State Bar of Arizona, Attn: Fee Arbitration Coordinator, 4201 N. 24th Street, Suite 100, Phoenix, AZ 85016-6288. The State Bar will serve the form on the other party for completion and execution; (3) to arbitrate before a single arbitrator, even if the dispute exceeds $20,000; (4) to be bound by the final written determination of the arbitrator.
The agreement of the parties to arbitrate all disputes and the results and awards rendered through arbitration will be final and binding on the Firm and the Client. Arbitration will be the sole means of resolving such disputes. The arbitrator will be empowered to award all relief available in a court of law. Both parties waive their rights to resolve disputes by court proceedings or any other means, and both parties irrevocably waive their rights to appeal the arbitrator’s decision in any forum. The arbitration provisions of this agreement may be enforced by any court of competent jurisdiction, and the party seeking enforcement shall be entitled to an award of all costs, fees, and expenses.
You acknowledge that, before signing this letter and agreeing to binding arbitration, you are entitled to, and have been given, a reasonable opportunity to seek the advice of independent counsel.
Concurrent Representation
The Firms intend to represent multiple clients with the same claims as yours in a “mass arbitration” against Shipt Inc. This is known as “concurrent representation” of multiple clients against a common opponent. You understand that such concurrent representation has many advantages, but also may give rise to potential conflicts of interest of which Client is hereby advised.
In concurrent representations, conflicts can arise from differences between Firm clients in the strength of their positions, individual damages, and the level of their interest in settlement. Conflicts can also arrive if proposals are made to treat similarly situated clients in different ways or to treat differently positioned clients in the same way. Concurrent representation also creates the possibility of conflicts between attorney and client. For instance, an attorney may favor the interests of one client or group of clients over another, or the lawyers’ interests over the clients’ interests. There are other risks inherent in such representations and settlements, including the possibility of differences in different clients’ willingness to accept a settlement, differences in clients’ participation motivation in proceedings and settlement efforts, and the possibility that an offer may require the consent of all or most of the clients, in which case the failure to obtain unanimous or near unanimous consent may result in the withdrawal of the offer.
Each person’s potential recovery may depend on factors such as total weeks worked, total time on the Shipt application making deliveries, total miles driven while making deliveries, state of work, whether a prior release agreement was signed, and participation motivation and involvement. These factors will differ from client to client, and those differences may create more or less leverage and settlement advantage depending on the facts and circumstances specific to the client.
Sharing of Confidential Information
Your attorneys may need to share your confidential information with other Firm clients in order to create a damages matrix for prosecution of your claims in arbitration, settlement efforts, and settlement administration.
After your arbitration matter is filed, the Firms will seek to resolve these claims together in a formal mediation process. Disclosure of confidential information, such as your name and identity, home address, email address, phone number, social security number, rate of compensation, weeks worked, dates of work, total compensation, and/or individual settlement sum to third parties, other claimants, or our opponents may be necessary to reach an aggregate settlement, establish a matrix point system for distribution of settlement sums, and make payment. If mediation fails, the same information may be shared with opposing counsel, arbitrators and the arbitrators’ staff in arbitration. You agree to waive confidentiality and permit the disclosure of this confidential information for these purposes.
Aggregate Settlement
Our Firms’ intention is to pursue a mass arbitration settlement fund or arbitration award for global resolution of claims based on the aggregation of individual damages and distribute those funds among all settling claimants using a point formula accounting for certain risk variables, including, but not limited to, the state of work, numbers of weeks worked, time on the Shipt application, and miles driven making Shipt deliveries.
While we cannot ascertain the exact size of the mass arbitration at this time, we reasonably estimate between 500 and 3,000 Shipt Shoppers will participate in mass arbitration.
Aggregate settlements that result from mass arbitrations often utilize matrices to distribute funds fairly across all claimants, depending on various factors. The aggregation of claims and the type of matrix used may impact the total funds you receive after the resolution of claims. It is our intention to share the method of calculating your individual damages and the point system with you before you have the opportunity to accept or reject your individual settlement.
Since potential conflicts may arise between group interests and the client’s individual interests, the lawyers intend to resolve such conflicts in favor of pursuing group interests. To this end, the Firms intend to pursue procedural safeguards such as: (1) limiting the states we agree to bring claims in to those states which have similar labor law statutes and legal standards for misclassification to align our clients’ interests and increase settlement leverage; (2) using a neutral mediator to assist with settlement negotiation; (3) establishing a proposed matrix and point system for calculation of individual settlement sums which will be disclosed to all clients; (4) using data to calculate individual damages and limiting reliance on damages calculations based on attorney discretion; (5) providing you with information reasonably necessary to make decisions on whether to accept or reject an individual settlement; (6) deferring to you as ultimate decision-maker on whether or not to accept an individual settlement; (7) negotiating any error fund separately and only after the common settlement fund has been established; and (8) hiring a settlement administrator to independently calculate your settlement sum based on the matrix created by the Firms.
Waiver of Conflicts
It is the opinion of the Firms that these safeguards will protect you from the potential risks of concurrent representation or aggregate settlement. The Firms believe the advantages of multiple representation outweigh any potential disadvantage. However, we encourage you to retain independent counsel for consultation before retaining our Firms if you are undecided on the merits of group representation and the possibility of conflicts of interest. By signing this retainer, you hereby waive conflicts of interest from concurrent representation.
You give us the right to use your confidential information to establish individual damages and use the collective damages data from all Firm clients to make a demand for the global resolution of claims.
You further agree to permit the lawyers to negotiate and fix an amount for global resolution of all of our clients’ legal claims, including your claims, based on the aggregation of individual damages if, in the Firms’ discretion, they have achieved a reasonable aggregate settlement fund that is likely the best possible under the circumstances for the Firms’ clients. Prior to conclusion of any aggregate settlement efforts, we will provide these disclosures again, and you will be given the opportunity to participate in, or opt out, of the aggregate settlement.
There may be tax consequences to any settlement or verdict you receive in this case. The Firms will not provide you with tax advice but will provide information about the case and its outcome to your tax advisor, tax counsel, or accountant at your request. We are not tax lawyers, and we urge you to make any decisions regarding the tax consequences of this case in consultation with an appropriate professional in that field.
This agreement sets forth the complete and final agreement between the Client and the Firms and supersedes all earlier agreements or understandings between the parties. If any provision of this agreement is held in whole or in part to be unenforceable for any reason, the remainder of that provision and of the entire agreement will be severable and remain in effect. This agreement may be modified by subsequent agreement of the parties only by an instrument in writing signed by all of them.
Before signing this agreement, you have read it, been given an opportunity to ask questions, and understand each of the provisions. You will receive a signed copy to keep and refer to while being represented by the Firms.
If you agree with the terms in this letter, please sign below. We look forward to representing you in this matter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.
The Law Office of Christopher Q. Davis, PLLC
Partner
Don Bivens PLLC
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