1017-00004 · Entities. Aurelius Global Media Group · Class Certification

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SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES — CENTRAL DISTRICT

DECLARATION OF CELINE ARROYO IN OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

I, Celine Arroyo, declare as follows:

1. I am the Director of Production Operations at Aurelius Media Americas Inc. ("AMA"). I have held this position since August 2017. In this capacity, I am responsible for overseeing production operations across all seven of AMA's California production facilities and for coordinating with the Unit Production Managers ("UPMs") and Line Producers who manage each of AMA's fourteen show units. I report directly to AMA's Senior Vice President of Operations and work closely with AMA's Human Resources department and its payroll and timekeeping personnel. I have over eighteen years of experience in entertainment industry production operations, having previously served in production management roles at Sundial Group, Severin Group, and Cobalt Ridge & Co.. I make this declaration based on my personal knowledge of AMA's production operations, its California facilities, its show units, and its scheduling and timekeeping practices. If called as a witness, I could and would competently testify to the matters stated herein. I submit this declaration in support of Defendant AMA's opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification.

2. AMA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aurelius Global Media Group PLC ("AGMG"), a United Kingdom-headquartered public media, entertainment, and e-commerce conglomerate listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: AGMG). AMA is a Delaware corporation qualified to do business in the State of California, with its principal office located at 8500 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1400, West Hollywood, California 90069. As of the date of this declaration, AMA employs approximately 2,400 employees in California. Of that total, approximately 1,850 were non-exempt, hourly employees at some point during the class period alleged in Plaintiffs' operative complaint — November 1, 2018 to the present. AMA's California operations are conducted through seven production facilities located in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, which collectively support fourteen distinct show units that were active during the class period. All non-exempt production-support employees at AMA's California facilities are governed by Industrial Welfare Commission ("IWC") Wage Order 12 (Motion Picture Industry), which contains specific provisions regarding working conditions, meal periods, rest periods, and other terms and conditions of employment applicable to employees in the motion picture industry.

3. AMA operates seven California production facilities. Each facility has a distinct function and supports different types of production activity. The seven facilities are as follows:

(a) Facility 1 — West Hollywood (HQ & Post-Production): Located at 8500 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1400, West Hollywood, California 90069. This facility serves as AMA's corporate headquarters and also houses a significant portion of AMA's post-production operations, including editing suites, audio mixing rooms, color correction bays, and executive screening rooms. The facility operates in a studio-based, office-like environment and is the administrative hub for all of AMA's California operations.

(b) Facility 2 — Studio City (Stage A & B — Unscripted): Located at 4024 Penmark Strategy Partners Avenue, Studio City, California 91604. This facility contains two sound stages — Stage A and Stage B — used primarily for studio-based unscripted programming, including game shows and competition formats. The stages are controlled indoor environments with fixed lighting grids, permanent sets, and on-site craft services and catering facilities.

(c) Facility 3 — Sherman Oaks (Digital Content): Located at 15301 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 300, Sherman Oaks, California 91403. This facility houses AMA's digital content production division, which produces content for social media platforms, streaming services, and web-based distribution channels. The digital content division operates on a hybrid schedule, with some production days involving studio shoots at the Sherman Oaks facility and other days involving remote or on-location shoots at various sites throughout the Los Angeles area.

(d) Facility 4 — Burbank (Live Events & Field Production): Located at 3800 West Alameda Avenue, Burbank, California 91505. This facility serves as the coordination hub for AMA's Live Events Division and for AMA's field-based show units, which conduct outdoor and remote shoots at various locations. The Burbank facility contains production offices, equipment storage, a wardrobe department, and logistics and transportation coordination operations. While the actual production of live events and field shoots occurs at off-site locations, the planning, coordination, pre-production, and post-event wrap activities are centered at this facility.

(e) Facility 5 — Hollywood (Scripted Development): Located at 1438 North Gower Street, Hollywood, California 90028. This facility houses AMA's scripted development operations, including writers' rooms and development offices, as well as post-production operations for certain show units. The facility includes editing bays, a small screening room, and production offices.

(f) Facility 6 — Santa Monica (E-Commerce Studio): Located at 2120 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, California 90404. This is a dedicated studio-based facility for AMA's e-commerce content production division, which produces product photography, styling content, and video for AGMG's e-commerce platforms. The facility contains multiple photography sets, a product staging and styling area, a video production studio, and associated office space.

(g) Facility 7 — El Segundo (Post-Production Annex): Located at 888 North Sepulveda Boulevard, El Segundo, California 90245. This facility functions as a post-production overflow facility, providing additional editing bays and office space to supplement the post-production operations at Facilities 1 and 5. The El Segundo annex is used during periods of high post-production volume, particularly when multiple show units have overlapping delivery deadlines.

4. During the class period, AMA operated fourteen distinct production units (commonly referred to as "show units") across the seven facilities identified above. Each show unit functions as a semi-autonomous production operation with its own production schedule, dedicated crew, supervisory structure, and operational requirements. The fourteen show units span a wide range of production formats and genres, including studio-based game shows and competition formats, field-based outdoor adventure shows, live events programming (including concerts, award shows, and televised special events), digital and social media content, post-production-intensive programming, and e-commerce content. No two show units operate on identical schedules or under identical conditions. The operational tempo, typical shift length, crew size, production cycle, and logistical demands of each show unit are shaped by the nature of the content being produced, the format of the show, the production venue (studio, field, or live event), and the specific requirements of the network, platform, or distribution partner for which the content is being produced. Each show unit is overseen by an individual UPM or Line Producer who has day-to-day operational authority over scheduling, crew deployment, and break management within that show unit.

5. The decentralized supervisory structure of AMA's production operations is central to understanding why Plaintiffs' claims cannot be adjudicated on a class-wide basis. Each show unit has its own UPM or Line Producer who is responsible for the day-to-day scheduling of work on that show unit, including the scheduling of meal periods and rest periods. AMA provides its UPMs and Line Producers with written guidelines regarding break scheduling, consistent with AMA's company-wide Meal and Rest Break Policy, which was most recently revised in January 2019 and distributed to all UPMs and Line Producers at that time. The Meal and Rest Break Policy sets forth AMA's commitment to compliance with California law and IWC Wage Order 12, and it instructs UPMs to schedule meal breaks no later than the end of the fifth hour of work and to authorize and permit rest breaks of at least ten minutes for every four hours of work or major fraction thereof.

However, the specific implementation of break scheduling — the actual timing and sequencing of breaks on any given production day — is left to the discretion of each UPM based on the specific production needs, location logistics, crew size, and nature of the production activity on that particular day. UPMs exercise independent judgment in determining when to call breaks, how to structure the production day around natural pauses in production activity, and how to manage crew deployment during breaks. This discretion is inherent in the nature of entertainment production, where no two production days are identical, and where the flow of production is influenced by a host of real-time variables including talent availability, creative direction, technical issues, weather conditions (on field shoots), and broadcast timing (on live events). This decentralized supervisory structure means that meal and rest break practices vary materially from show unit to show unit, from UPM to UPM, and even from day to day within a single show unit, depending on the production schedule and circumstances of that particular day.

6. Several of AMA's fourteen show units are studio-based — that is, they are filmed on controlled sound stages at Facilities 1, 2, or 6. Studio-based shows represent a distinct production environment in which scheduling is relatively predictable and manageable. To illustrate the studio-based production experience, I will describe the operations of "Kitchen Clash," a studio-based culinary competition show filmed at Facility 1 in West Hollywood.

"Kitchen Clash" is filmed on a permanent set on Stage A at Facility 1. Production days for "Kitchen Clash" are relatively predictable, typically running eight to ten hours. The production schedule is organized around segments — individual competition rounds, judging segments, and elimination sequences — that have defined durations and natural break points between them. Meal breaks are scheduled in advance by the show's UPM and are incorporated into the daily call sheet distributed to all crew members before each production day. Between segments, between contestant rounds, or during set resets and lighting changes, the production is paused at a natural break point to allow for a full thirty-minute duty-free meal period. During the meal period, crew members on studio-based shows generally clock out at a designated meal time using the TimeTrack Pro timekeeping system, the production pauses, and all crew members are free to leave the stage area to eat in the facility's designated meal area or off-site.

Rest periods on studio-based shows are similarly manageable. The studio environment provides regular opportunities for scheduled ten-minute breaks between setups, lighting changes, talent wardrobe changes, and other routine production pauses. The controlled indoor environment means that there are no weather-related disruptions, no logistical challenges associated with remote locations, and no broadcast timing pressures. Based on my review of production records and TimeTrack Pro data for "Kitchen Clash" and AMA's other studio-based show units, the percentage of shifts on studio-based shows where meal period issues arise — such as late meal periods or shortened meal periods — is significantly lower than on field-based or live production shows. UPMs on studio-based shows generally have reliable control over scheduling and are able to implement AMA's Meal and Rest Break Policy with a high degree of consistency.

7. In stark contrast to the studio-based production experience, other AMA show units are field-based, operating at remote or outdoor locations coordinated from Facility 4 in Burbank. The field-based production experience presents fundamentally different scheduling challenges. To illustrate these differences, I will describe the operations of "Summit Challenge," AMA's flagship outdoor adventure competition format.

"Summit Challenge" is AMA's most valuable unscripted franchise, generating approximately $42 million in annual revenue for the company. The show involves physical challenges and adventure competitions filmed at remote outdoor locations throughout California, including desert, mountain, and coastal environments. Production days on "Summit Challenge" are typically twelve to sixteen hours in duration, dictated by the availability of natural light, weather conditions, terrain and accessibility of the shooting location, and the logistical constraints inherent in operating at remote outdoor sites far from AMA's permanent facilities.

While meal breaks are included in the daily call sheet for every production day on "Summit Challenge" — as they are for all AMA show units — the logistical challenges of remote outdoor locations can make it difficult to provide a fully uninterrupted, duty-free thirty-minute meal break at the precise time scheduled on the call sheet. These challenges include limited shelter at remote locations, significant distance between the shooting site and the catering setup area, adverse weather conditions that may require the crew to remain in position, and rugged terrain that limits crew mobility. In some instances, the production may be in the middle of filming a physical challenge or adventure sequence at the scheduled meal break time, and pausing the production at that exact moment may not be feasible for creative, safety, or logistical reasons. In such cases, the UPM exercises judgment to reschedule the break to the earliest feasible time.

Second meal periods — required under California law for shifts exceeding ten hours — are particularly challenging to schedule on field production days, as the production may be in the final hours of usable daylight and may be in the middle of a sequence that cannot easily be paused without losing the light or requiring a costly additional day of production. Rest periods on remote locations are impacted by similar logistical factors: crew members may need to remain near heavy equipment, in a staging area, or within a safety perimeter, rather than being entirely free to leave the production area during their rest breaks. The field production experience is fundamentally different from the studio experience, and any assessment of whether meal and rest breaks were "provided" in compliance with California law requires a granular, fact-specific inquiry into the conditions of each individual production day, at each individual location, under the supervision of each individual UPM. The field production experience simply cannot be generalized across both studio and field environments without distorting the actual working conditions experienced by individual employees.

8. AMA's Live Events Division, headquartered at Facility 4 in Burbank, produces concerts, award shows, and other live programming for broadcast and streaming distribution. Named plaintiff Yesenia Padilla worked as a Segment Coordinator in the Live Events Division at Facility 4 from January 10, 2018 through May 17, 2022. The live events production environment presents its own unique and distinct scheduling constraints that differ materially from both the studio and field production environments described above.

Live events have scheduling constraints that are dictated by the timing of the live event itself. Show times for concerts, award ceremonies, and other live broadcasts are fixed by the venue, the broadcast network, and the talent, and they cannot be adjusted to accommodate crew meal or rest break schedules. During the live event broadcast window — which typically lasts two to four hours — crew members assigned to live event production must be at their positions continuously. Sound engineers, camera operators, lighting technicians, stage managers, segment coordinators, graphics operators, and other production-support personnel must remain at their stations throughout the live broadcast to ensure the seamless execution of the production. Meal and rest breaks during the live broadcast window are not feasible. Instead, breaks are scheduled before or after the live broadcast window, or during pre-show rehearsal and post-show wrap periods.

Production days for live events typically involve extended setup and rehearsal (four to six hours before the event), the live event itself (two to four hours), and teardown and post-show operations (two to three hours), resulting in total production days of ten to fourteen hours. Meal breaks are provided when feasible — typically during the setup period before the live event and/or during the post-show period after the broadcast — but the live nature of the production creates time pressures and scheduling constraints that are qualitatively different from those encountered on studio-based or pre-recorded field productions. The live events production experience is thus distinct from both studio and field production and presents its own unique set of scheduling challenges that require individualized assessment.

9. AMA's post-production operations are based at Facility 1 (West Hollywood headquarters), Facility 5 (Hollywood), and Facility 7 (El Segundo). Named plaintiff Derek Halloran worked as a Post-Production Assistant at Facility 5 in Hollywood from June 1, 2020 through November 30, 2022. Post-production is an office-based environment consisting of editing bays, audio mixing suites, color correction rooms, and review screening rooms. The nature of post-production work is fundamentally different from the production-day work performed by employees on studio stages, at field locations, or during live events.

Work schedules in the post-production environment are generally regular and predictable: eight to ten hours per day, five days per week, with a consistent start and end time. During what are referred to internally as "crunch periods" — typically the two to three weeks immediately preceding a delivery deadline to a network or platform buyer — post-production employees may work longer days of ten to twelve hours. However, these crunch periods are intermittent and vary in frequency and duration by show unit and by delivery schedule. Not all post-production employees experience crunch periods with the same regularity or intensity; an editor assigned to a show with a weekly delivery schedule will have a different crunch pattern than an editor assigned to a limited series with a single delivery date.

Meal and rest breaks in the post-production environment are generally taken without interruption. Unlike studio production, field production, or live events, post-production work can be paused at any point without significant consequence — an editor can save her work and step away from the editing bay, an audio mixer can pause the mixing session, and a color correction technician can halt the grading process. There is no loss of natural light, no risk of disrupting a live broadcast, and no logistical challenge associated with remote locations. The post-production work experience with respect to meal and rest breaks is materially different from the production-day experiences encountered by employees in studio, field, or live event environments, and any attempt to treat post-production employees as part of a single class with production-day employees ignores these fundamental differences.

10. AMA's digital content production operations are based at Facility 3 in Sherman Oaks, and its e-commerce production operations are based at Facility 6 in Santa Monica. These two production environments, while distinct from each other, are also materially different from AMA's larger unscripted, field, and live events show units.

Digital content production at Facility 3 operates on a hybrid schedule. On some days, digital content employees work on studio shoots at the Sherman Oaks facility, in a controlled environment with predictable schedules and manageable break timing. On other days, digital content employees work on remote or on-location shoots at various sites throughout the Los Angeles area for social media, web content, or streaming platform distribution. The scheduling challenges and break practices on studio-shoot days differ from those on remote-shoot days, creating variability even within a single show unit.

E-commerce production at Facility 6 is a studio-based operation involving product photography, product styling, and short-form video production. Schedules at Facility 6 are generally eight to nine hours in duration, with predictable and regularly spaced meal and rest break windows. The work is organized around discrete product shoots — individual items or product lines — that have defined durations and natural break points. Both digital content and e-commerce production involve smaller crews and shorter production cycles than AMA's larger unscripted competition shows or live events, and the scheduling and break practices in these environments differ accordingly. The experiences of employees in these divisions cannot fairly be aggregated with those of employees in AMA's other, larger, and more operationally complex show units.

11. For every production day across all of AMA's show units, AMA's production department issues a daily call sheet. The call sheet is the primary scheduling document for the production day and is distributed to all crew members in advance — typically the evening before the production day, though on some show units the call sheet is distributed earlier. Each call sheet specifies, among other things: the call time (when crew members are expected to report to the facility or location); scheduled meal breaks, including the first meal period and, where applicable, the second meal period, with planned start times for each; and the anticipated wrap time (when the production day is expected to conclude).

AMA's production protocols require that a designated meal break be included in the daily call sheet for every production day, regardless of the show unit, the facility, or the type of production. This is a company-wide requirement, and compliance with it is monitored by my office as part of my production operations oversight responsibilities. However, the actual timing and duration of breaks on any given production day may deviate from the times specified on the call sheet, based on real-time production needs. For example, if a scene or segment runs longer than anticipated, the meal break may be pushed later. If weather conditions change unexpectedly on a field shoot, the UPM may need to adjust the entire production schedule, including meal break timing. If a live event starts late due to talent or venue issues, the post-event meal break may be delayed accordingly.

The degree to which actual break times conform to the scheduled times on the call sheet varies significantly by show unit and production type. On studio-based shows with predictable production schedules, actual break times generally align closely with the call sheet. On field productions and live events, where external variables exert greater influence on the production schedule, deviations from the call sheet are more frequent and more significant. This variability further underscores the need for individualized inquiry into the circumstances of each production day and each employee's experience.

12. Plaintiffs allege in their operative complaint and in their class certification motion that AMA required its employees to perform "off-the-clock" work before their scheduled clock-in time (what Plaintiffs characterize as "pre-shift setup") and after their scheduled clock-out time (what Plaintiffs characterize as "post-shift wrap"). I am familiar with AMA's policies and practices regarding the recording of work time, and I address these allegations below.

AMA's policy, as set forth in its Employee Handbook and in written directives issued to UPMs and Line Producers, is that production coordinators, production assistants, and other non-exempt employees are expected to arrive at their assigned call time and to begin work at that call time. All compensable work time is required to be recorded in AMA's TimeTrack Pro timekeeping system, which is the electronic system used to track hours worked, meal period start and end times, and overtime for all non-exempt employees across all seven California facilities. Any setup activity that needs to occur before the general crew call time — such as equipment staging, set preparation, or other advance preparation — should be reflected in an earlier, separate call time on the call sheet for those employees whose duties require early arrival, and those employees should clock in at that earlier time.

In practice, I am aware that some crew members arrive at facilities or locations before their scheduled call time and engage in various preparatory activities — reviewing production materials, organizing personal equipment, checking email, preparing their workstations, or socializing with colleagues. AMA considers such voluntary, self-directed early arrival to be non-compensable, as it is not directed or required by management and is not a necessary precondition to the employee's ability to begin productive work at call time.

The nature and extent of any pre-shift and post-shift activity varies enormously by show unit, by the employee's role within the show unit, by the specific facility, and by the individual employee's personal work habits. On a studio-based show, a production coordinator might arrive ten to fifteen minutes early to review the day's script breakdown and production notes — a relatively brief, self-directed task. On a field production, crew members involved in equipment transport and physical setup at remote locations might begin work thirty to forty-five minutes before the general crew call time, but in those cases, the UPM is expected to set an earlier call time for those specific individuals and to ensure that their time is recorded. In post-production, there is minimal pre-shift setup — employees typically log in to their editing systems at their scheduled start time, and the nature of the work does not require significant advance preparation. For live events, pre-show setup is a major production activity that involves the entire crew and is typically reflected in the call sheet as compensable working time with an appropriately early call time.

Because the nature and extent of pre-shift and post-shift work varies by show unit, by facility, by role within the show unit, and by individual employee, Plaintiffs' off-the-clock claims cannot be resolved on a class-wide basis. Any determination of whether a particular employee performed compensable work before clocking in or after clocking out would require an individualized inquiry into that employee's specific role, the specific show unit, the specific production day, and the specific circumstances of the alleged off-the-clock activity.

13. The three named Plaintiffs in this consolidated action worked in three entirely different divisions of AMA, at three different facilities, under different supervisors, on different types of productions, during partially overlapping but not identical periods of employment. Their diverse and divergent experiences illustrate the fundamental lack of commonality among the proposed class members.

(a) Marisol Fuentes worked as a Production Coordinator in AMA's Unscripted Programming Division at Facility 2 (Studio City) from March 14, 2019 through August 5, 2022. Ms. Fuentes worked primarily on studio-based unscripted shows filmed on the sound stages at Facility 2. Her production environment was a controlled studio setting with predictable schedules, regular break opportunities, and the ability to pause production at natural break points between segments.

(b) Derek Halloran worked as a Post-Production Assistant in AMA's Digital Content Division at Facility 5 (Hollywood) from June 1, 2020 through November 30, 2022. Mr. Halloran worked in an office-based post-production environment, performing tasks such as media management, file organization, rough cut assembly, and quality control review of edited content. His work environment was fundamentally different from a production-day environment: regular hours, an indoor office setting, and the ability to pause work at any time without consequence.

(c) Yesenia Padilla worked as a Segment Coordinator in AMA's Live Events Division at Facility 4 (Burbank) from January 10, 2018 through May 17, 2022. Ms. Padilla's work involved coordinating segment timing and content for live event broadcasts, including concerts, award shows, and televised specials. Her production environment was shaped by the unique constraints of live broadcasting — fixed show times, continuous crew presence during broadcast windows, and extended production days involving setup, rehearsal, live broadcast, and teardown.

The experiences of these three named Plaintiffs with meal and rest breaks were shaped by fundamentally different production environments, schedules, supervisory structures, and operational realities. Ms. Fuentes's experience on a studio-based show at Facility 2 — a facility where, notably, the Missed Meal Attestation feature in TimeTrack Pro was not activated during the majority of her tenure — is not representative of employees at facilities where the Missed Meal Attestation feature was activated (including Facilities 1, 4, 5, and 7), or of employees in post-production or live events environments. Mr. Halloran's experience in a post-production office environment — where breaks were generally taken without interruption and where the work could be paused at any time — is not representative of the experience of employees working on production-day shoots, whether in studio, field, or live event settings. Ms. Padilla's experience in live events — with unique scheduling constraints driven by the timing of live broadcasts, continuous crew presence during broadcast windows, and extended multi-phase production days — is not representative of employees on pre-recorded shows, whether studio-based or field-based, or of employees in post-production. No single named Plaintiff's experience can fairly represent the proposed class as a whole.

14. In my role as Director of Production Operations, I have personally observed and am familiar with the supervisory practices of the UPMs and Line Producers across all fourteen of AMA's show units. I interact regularly with UPMs and Line Producers through weekly production meetings, periodic site visits to each facility, and daily communication regarding production schedules, budgets, and operational issues. Based on my direct knowledge and observation, I can confirm that supervisory practices regarding meal and rest break scheduling and enforcement vary materially across AMA's fourteen show units. These variations are not random or arbitrary; they reflect the different operational demands and logistical realities of each show unit's production environment.

Some UPMs proactively schedule meal and rest breaks at fixed times on the call sheet and enforce strict adherence to those scheduled times, pausing production at the designated hour regardless of where the production stands in its shooting schedule. These UPMs tend to work on studio-based shows where the production schedule is predictable and where pausing production has minimal cost or disruption. Other UPMs adopt a more flexible approach, scheduling breaks around natural production pauses — between scenes, during lighting setups, during talent wardrobe or makeup changes, or during equipment repositioning — rather than at fixed clock times. These UPMs tend to work on shows with less predictable production flows, where rigid adherence to fixed break times may be impractical.

On field productions, the UPM's ability to control break timing is further constrained by external factors — weather, natural light, location access, safety considerations, and terrain — that are simply not present in a studio environment. A UPM on an outdoor adventure show cannot control the sunset or a sudden rainstorm, and these factors may necessitate adjustments to the break schedule that would never arise on a studio-based show. On live events, the UPM's scheduling authority is subordinate to the live broadcast schedule, which is controlled by the network, the venue, and the talent, and which the UPM has no power to alter.

These variations in supervisory practice mean that a class-wide determination of whether AMA "provided" compliant meal and rest breaks, within the meaning of California Labor Code sections 226.7 and 512 and the relevant provisions of IWC Wage Order 12, is not possible without individualized inquiry into each show unit's specific practices, each UPM's specific supervisory approach, and each employee's specific experiences on each production day during the class period.

15. Based on my review of production schedules and TimeTrack Pro data, conducted in consultation with AMA's payroll department and Human Resources department, I can confirm that shift lengths and overtime frequency vary dramatically across AMA's fourteen show units. This variation is directly relevant to the class certification analysis because it demonstrates that the proposed class members do not share a uniform experience with respect to the fundamental factual predicates of their claims — the length of their shifts, the frequency of overtime, and the consequent applicability of meal and rest break obligations that are triggered by shift length.

The following data reflects average shift lengths and overtime frequencies across the major categories of AMA show units during the class period:

(a) Studio-based shows (e.g., "Kitchen Clash" and similar competition/game show formats at Facilities 1 and 2): Average shift length of approximately 9.2 hours. Overtime frequency — meaning the percentage of shifts exceeding eight hours — of approximately 55%. Shifts exceeding twelve hours were rare on studio-based shows, occurring on fewer than 3% of production days.

(b) Field-based shows (e.g., "Summit Challenge" and other outdoor/remote productions coordinated from Facility 4): Average shift length of approximately 13.4 hours. Overtime frequency of approximately 92% of shifts. Shifts exceeding twelve hours occurred on approximately 45% of production days. These extended shifts are a direct consequence of the logistical demands and natural-light constraints of outdoor field production.

(c) Live events (concerts, award shows, and other live programming coordinated from Facility 4): Average shift length of approximately 11.8 hours. Overtime frequency of approximately 78% of shifts. Live event production days are shaped by the fixed timing of the live broadcast and the extended setup, rehearsal, and teardown periods that bracket the broadcast.

(d) Post-production (editing, audio mixing, color correction, and quality control at Facilities 1, 5, and 7): Average shift length of approximately 8.6 hours. Overtime frequency of approximately 30% of shifts. The majority of overtime in post-production occurs during crunch periods preceding delivery deadlines, and these periods are intermittent and variable.

(e) Digital content and e-commerce production (Facilities 3 and 6): Average shift length of approximately 8.9 hours. Overtime frequency of approximately 40% of shifts. These divisions generally maintain more regular schedules, with overtime occurring primarily on on-location shoot days for digital content and during product launch periods for e-commerce content.

The variation in shift length directly impacts the meal and rest break obligations at issue in this litigation. Under California law, a second meal period is required only for shifts exceeding ten hours, and a third rest period is required only for shifts exceeding ten hours. An employee working a typical 8.6-hour post-production shift has a materially different set of meal and rest break entitlements than an employee working a 13.4-hour field production day. The proposed class encompasses employees across this entire spectrum of shift lengths and overtime frequencies, and the class members' experiences with respect to meal and rest break compliance are correspondingly non-uniform. This variation further demonstrates that individual questions — regarding each employee's specific shift lengths, the specific break obligations triggered by those shift lengths, and the specific break practices of the show unit and UPM to which that employee was assigned — predominate over any common questions.

16. Based on my over eighteen years of experience in entertainment production operations and my personal knowledge of AMA's production operations throughout the class period, I can state with confidence that the production environments, scheduling practices, supervisory structures, and meal and rest break experiences across AMA's seven California facilities and fourteen show units are materially different from one another. The experiences of employees on studio-based shows — with their controlled environments, predictable schedules, and manageable break timing — cannot be equated with the experiences of employees on field-based productions — with their extended hours, remote locations, and logistical constraints — or with the experiences of employees working live events — with their fixed broadcast schedules and continuous crew presence requirements — or with the experiences of employees in post-production — with their regular office hours and uninterrupted break opportunities.

The three named Plaintiffs each represent a different production environment, a different division, a different facility, and a different set of operational realities, and none of the three is typical of the proposed class as a whole. A class-wide determination of whether AMA "provided" compliant meal and rest breaks within the meaning of California law would require individualized inquiry into the specific circumstances of each employee's show unit, facility, supervisory practices, shift lengths, production type, and individual work experience. These are precisely the types of individualized inquiries that make class treatment unmanageable and that demonstrate the predominance of individual questions over common questions. These variations support Defendant's position that individual questions predominate over common questions and that class certification is not appropriate under California Code of Civil Procedure section 382.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed this 14th day of June, 2023, in West Hollywood, California.

________________________________________

CELINE ARROYO

CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP 777 South Flower Street, Suite 4200 Los Angeles, California 90017 Telephone: (213) 555-7800 Facsimile: (213) 555-7801

Renata Vasquez (SBN 224578) rvasquez@calderwoodharkness.com Devon Archer (SBN 301462) darcher@calderwoodharkness.com

Attorneys for Defendant AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC.

MARISOL FUENTES, DEREK HALLORAN, and YESENIA PADILLA, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,

(Consolidated with Case No. 22STCV39501)

Plaintiffs,

Assigned for All Purposes to the

v.	Hon. Raymond Escobedo, Dept. 34
AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC.,	DECLARATION OF CELINE ARROYO IN OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION
Defendant.	Date: July 12, 2023

Time: 9:00 a.m.

Dept.: 34

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES — CENTRAL DISTRICT
DECLARATION OF CELINE ARROYO IN OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION
I, Celine Arroyo, declare as follows:
1. I am the Director of Production Operations at Aurelius Media Americas Inc. ("AMA"). I have held this position since August 2017. In this capacity, I am responsible for overseeing production operations across all seven of AMA's California production facilities and for coordinating with the Unit Production Managers ("UPMs") and Line Producers who manage each of AMA's fourteen show units. I report directly to AMA's Senior Vice President of Operations and work closely with AMA's Human Resources department and its payroll and timekeeping personnel. I have over eighteen years of experience in entertainment industry production operations, having previously served in production management roles at Sundial Group, Severin Group, and Cobalt Ridge & Co.. I make this declaration based on my personal knowledge of AMA's production operations, its California facilities, its show units, and its scheduling and timekeeping practices. If called as a witness, I could and would competently testify to the matters stated herein. I submit this declaration in support of Defendant AMA's opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification.
2. AMA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aurelius Global Media Group PLC ("AGMG"), a United Kingdom-headquartered public media, entertainment, and e-commerce conglomerate listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: AGMG). AMA is a Delaware corporation qualified to do business in the State of California, with its principal office located at 8500 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1400, West Hollywood, California 90069. As of the date of this declaration, AMA employs approximately 2,400 employees in California. Of that total, approximately 1,850 were non-exempt, hourly employees at some point during the class period alleged in Plaintiffs' operative complaint — November 1, 2018 to the present. AMA's California operations are conducted through seven production facilities located in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, which collectively support fourteen distinct show units that were active during the class period. All non-exempt production-support employees at AMA's California facilities are governed by Industrial Welfare Commission ("IWC") Wage Order 12 (Motion Picture Industry), which contains specific provisions regarding working conditions, meal periods, rest periods, and other terms and conditions of employment applicable to employees in the motion picture industry.
3. AMA operates seven California production facilities. Each facility has a distinct function and supports different types of production activity. The seven facilities are as follows:
(a) Facility 1 — West Hollywood (HQ & Post-Production): Located at 8500 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1400, West Hollywood, California 90069. This facility serves as AMA's corporate headquarters and also houses a significant portion of AMA's post-production operations, including editing suites, audio mixing rooms, color correction bays, and executive screening rooms. The facility operates in a studio-based, office-like environment and is the administrative hub for all of AMA's California operations.
(b) Facility 2 — Studio City (Stage A & B — Unscripted): Located at 4024 Penmark Strategy Partners Avenue, Studio City, California 91604. This facility contains two sound stages — Stage A and Stage B — used primarily for studio-based unscripted programming, including game shows and competition formats. The stages are controlled indoor environments with fixed lighting grids, permanent sets, and on-site craft services and catering facilities.
(c) Facility 3 — Sherman Oaks (Digital Content): Located at 15301 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 300, Sherman Oaks, California 91403. This facility houses AMA's digital content production division, which produces content for social media platforms, streaming services, and web-based distribution channels. The digital content division operates on a hybrid schedule, with some production days involving studio shoots at the Sherman Oaks facility and other days involving remote or on-location shoots at various sites throughout the Los Angeles area.
(d) Facility 4 — Burbank (Live Events & Field Production): Located at 3800 West Alameda Avenue, Burbank, California 91505. This facility serves as the coordination hub for AMA's Live Events Division and for AMA's field-based show units, which conduct outdoor and remote shoots at various locations. The Burbank facility contains production offices, equipment storage, a wardrobe department, and logistics and transportation coordination operations. While the actual production of live events and field shoots occurs at off-site locations, the planning, coordination, pre-production, and post-event wrap activities are centered at this facility.
(e) Facility 5 — Hollywood (Scripted Development): Located at 1438 North Gower Street, Hollywood, California 90028. This facility houses AMA's scripted development operations, including writers' rooms and development offices, as well as post-production operations for certain show units. The facility includes editing bays, a small screening room, and production offices.
(f) Facility 6 — Santa Monica (E-Commerce Studio): Located at 2120 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, California 90404. This is a dedicated studio-based facility for AMA's e-commerce content production division, which produces product photography, styling content, and video for AGMG's e-commerce platforms. The facility contains multiple photography sets, a product staging and styling area, a video production studio, and associated office space.
(g) Facility 7 — El Segundo (Post-Production Annex): Located at 888 North Sepulveda Boulevard, El Segundo, California 90245. This facility functions as a post-production overflow facility, providing additional editing bays and office space to supplement the post-production operations at Facilities 1 and 5. The El Segundo annex is used during periods of high post-production volume, particularly when multiple show units have overlapping delivery deadlines.
4. During the class period, AMA operated fourteen distinct production units (commonly referred to as "show units") across the seven facilities identified above. Each show unit functions as a semi-autonomous production operation with its own production schedule, dedicated crew, supervisory structure, and operational requirements. The fourteen show units span a wide range of production formats and genres, including studio-based game shows and competition formats, field-based outdoor adventure shows, live events programming (including concerts, award shows, and televised special events), digital and social media content, post-production-intensive programming, and e-commerce content. No two show units operate on identical schedules or under identical conditions. The operational tempo, typical shift length, crew size, production cycle, and logistical demands of each show unit are shaped by the nature of the content being produced, the format of the show, the production venue (studio, field, or live event), and the specific requirements of the network, platform, or distribution partner for which the content is being produced. Each show unit is overseen by an individual UPM or Line Producer who has day-to-day operational authority over scheduling, crew deployment, and break management within that show unit.
5. The decentralized supervisory structure of AMA's production operations is central to understanding why Plaintiffs' claims cannot be adjudicated on a class-wide basis. Each show unit has its own UPM or Line Producer who is responsible for the day-to-day scheduling of work on that show unit, including the scheduling of meal periods and rest periods. AMA provides its UPMs and Line Producers with written guidelines regarding break scheduling, consistent with AMA's company-wide Meal and Rest Break Policy, which was most recently revised in January 2019 and distributed to all UPMs and Line Producers at that time. The Meal and Rest Break Policy sets forth AMA's commitment to compliance with California law and IWC Wage Order 12, and it instructs UPMs to schedule meal breaks no later than the end of the fifth hour of work and to authorize and permit rest breaks of at least ten minutes for every four hours of work or major fraction thereof.
However, the specific implementation of break scheduling — the actual timing and sequencing of breaks on any given production day — is left to the discretion of each UPM based on the specific production needs, location logistics, crew size, and nature of the production activity on that particular day. UPMs exercise independent judgment in determining when to call breaks, how to structure the production day around natural pauses in production activity, and how to manage crew deployment during breaks. This discretion is inherent in the nature of entertainment production, where no two production days are identical, and where the flow of production is influenced by a host of real-time variables including talent availability, creative direction, technical issues, weather conditions (on field shoots), and broadcast timing (on live events). This decentralized supervisory structure means that meal and rest break practices vary materially from show unit to show unit, from UPM to UPM, and even from day to day within a single show unit, depending on the production schedule and circumstances of that particular day.
6. Several of AMA's fourteen show units are studio-based — that is, they are filmed on controlled sound stages at Facilities 1, 2, or 6. Studio-based shows represent a distinct production environment in which scheduling is relatively predictable and manageable. To illustrate the studio-based production experience, I will describe the operations of "Kitchen Clash," a studio-based culinary competition show filmed at Facility 1 in West Hollywood.
"Kitchen Clash" is filmed on a permanent set on Stage A at Facility 1. Production days for "Kitchen Clash" are relatively predictable, typically running eight to ten hours. The production schedule is organized around segments — individual competition rounds, judging segments, and elimination sequences — that have defined durations and natural break points between them. Meal breaks are scheduled in advance by the show's UPM and are incorporated into the daily call sheet distributed to all crew members before each production day. Between segments, between contestant rounds, or during set resets and lighting changes, the production is paused at a natural break point to allow for a full thirty-minute duty-free meal period. During the meal period, crew members on studio-based shows generally clock out at a designated meal time using the TimeTrack Pro timekeeping system, the production pauses, and all crew members are free to leave the stage area to eat in the facility's designated meal area or off-site.
Rest periods on studio-based shows are similarly manageable. The studio environment provides regular opportunities for scheduled ten-minute breaks between setups, lighting changes, talent wardrobe changes, and other routine production pauses. The controlled indoor environment means that there are no weather-related disruptions, no logistical challenges associated with remote locations, and no broadcast timing pressures. Based on my review of production records and TimeTrack Pro data for "Kitchen Clash" and AMA's other studio-based show units, the percentage of shifts on studio-based shows where meal period issues arise — such as late meal periods or shortened meal periods — is significantly lower than on field-based or live production shows. UPMs on studio-based shows generally have reliable control over scheduling and are able to implement AMA's Meal and Rest Break Policy with a high degree of consistency.
7. In stark contrast to the studio-based production experience, other AMA show units are field-based, operating at remote or outdoor locations coordinated from Facility 4 in Burbank. The field-based production experience presents fundamentally different scheduling challenges. To illustrate these differences, I will describe the operations of "Summit Challenge," AMA's flagship outdoor adventure competition format.
"Summit Challenge" is AMA's most valuable unscripted franchise, generating approximately $42 million in annual revenue for the company. The show involves physical challenges and adventure competitions filmed at remote outdoor locations throughout California, including desert, mountain, and coastal environments. Production days on "Summit Challenge" are typically twelve to sixteen hours in duration, dictated by the availability of natural light, weather conditions, terrain and accessibility of the shooting location, and the logistical constraints inherent in operating at remote outdoor sites far from AMA's permanent facilities.
While meal breaks are included in the daily call sheet for every production day on "Summit Challenge" — as they are for all AMA show units — the logistical challenges of remote outdoor locations can make it difficult to provide a fully uninterrupted, duty-free thirty-minute meal break at the precise time scheduled on the call sheet. These challenges include limited shelter at remote locations, significant distance between the shooting site and the catering setup area, adverse weather conditions that may require the crew to remain in position, and rugged terrain that limits crew mobility. In some instances, the production may be in the middle of filming a physical challenge or adventure sequence at the scheduled meal break time, and pausing the production at that exact moment may not be feasible for creative, safety, or logistical reasons. In such cases, the UPM exercises judgment to reschedule the break to the earliest feasible time.
Second meal periods — required under California law for shifts exceeding ten hours — are particularly challenging to schedule on field production days, as the production may be in the final hours of usable daylight and may be in the middle of a sequence that cannot easily be paused without losing the light or requiring a costly additional day of production. Rest periods on remote locations are impacted by similar logistical factors: crew members may need to remain near heavy equipment, in a staging area, or within a safety perimeter, rather than being entirely free to leave the production area during their rest breaks. The field production experience is fundamentally different from the studio experience, and any assessment of whether meal and rest breaks were "provided" in compliance with California law requires a granular, fact-specific inquiry into the conditions of each individual production day, at each individual location, under the supervision of each individual UPM. The field production experience simply cannot be generalized across both studio and field environments without distorting the actual working conditions experienced by individual employees.
8. AMA's Live Events Division, headquartered at Facility 4 in Burbank, produces concerts, award shows, and other live programming for broadcast and streaming distribution. Named plaintiff Yesenia Padilla worked as a Segment Coordinator in the Live Events Division at Facility 4 from January 10, 2018 through May 17, 2022. The live events production environment presents its own unique and distinct scheduling constraints that differ materially from both the studio and field production environments described above.
Live events have scheduling constraints that are dictated by the timing of the live event itself. Show times for concerts, award ceremonies, and other live broadcasts are fixed by the venue, the broadcast network, and the talent, and they cannot be adjusted to accommodate crew meal or rest break schedules. During the live event broadcast window — which typically lasts two to four hours — crew members assigned to live event production must be at their positions continuously. Sound engineers, camera operators, lighting technicians, stage managers, segment coordinators, graphics operators, and other production-support personnel must remain at their stations throughout the live broadcast to ensure the seamless execution of the production. Meal and rest breaks during the live broadcast window are not feasible. Instead, breaks are scheduled before or after the live broadcast window, or during pre-show rehearsal and post-show wrap periods.
Production days for live events typically involve extended setup and rehearsal (four to six hours before the event), the live event itself (two to four hours), and teardown and post-show operations (two to three hours), resulting in total production days of ten to fourteen hours. Meal breaks are provided when feasible — typically during the setup period before the live event and/or during the post-show period after the broadcast — but the live nature of the production creates time pressures and scheduling constraints that are qualitatively different from those encountered on studio-based or pre-recorded field productions. The live events production experience is thus distinct from both studio and field production and presents its own unique set of scheduling challenges that require individualized assessment.
9. AMA's post-production operations are based at Facility 1 (West Hollywood headquarters), Facility 5 (Hollywood), and Facility 7 (El Segundo). Named plaintiff Derek Halloran worked as a Post-Production Assistant at Facility 5 in Hollywood from June 1, 2020 through November 30, 2022. Post-production is an office-based environment consisting of editing bays, audio mixing suites, color correction rooms, and review screening rooms. The nature of post-production work is fundamentally different from the production-day work performed by employees on studio stages, at field locations, or during live events.
Work schedules in the post-production environment are generally regular and predictable: eight to ten hours per day, five days per week, with a consistent start and end time. During what are referred to internally as "crunch periods" — typically the two to three weeks immediately preceding a delivery deadline to a network or platform buyer — post-production employees may work longer days of ten to twelve hours. However, these crunch periods are intermittent and vary in frequency and duration by show unit and by delivery schedule. Not all post-production employees experience crunch periods with the same regularity or intensity; an editor assigned to a show with a weekly delivery schedule will have a different crunch pattern than an editor assigned to a limited series with a single delivery date.
Meal and rest breaks in the post-production environment are generally taken without interruption. Unlike studio production, field production, or live events, post-production work can be paused at any point without significant consequence — an editor can save her work and step away from the editing bay, an audio mixer can pause the mixing session, and a color correction technician can halt the grading process. There is no loss of natural light, no risk of disrupting a live broadcast, and no logistical challenge associated with remote locations. The post-production work experience with respect to meal and rest breaks is materially different from the production-day experiences encountered by employees in studio, field, or live event environments, and any attempt to treat post-production employees as part of a single class with production-day employees ignores these fundamental differences.
10. AMA's digital content production operations are based at Facility 3 in Sherman Oaks, and its e-commerce production operations are based at Facility 6 in Santa Monica. These two production environments, while distinct from each other, are also materially different from AMA's larger unscripted, field, and live events show units.
Digital content production at Facility 3 operates on a hybrid schedule. On some days, digital content employees work on studio shoots at the Sherman Oaks facility, in a controlled environment with predictable schedules and manageable break timing. On other days, digital content employees work on remote or on-location shoots at various sites throughout the Los Angeles area for social media, web content, or streaming platform distribution. The scheduling challenges and break practices on studio-shoot days differ from those on remote-shoot days, creating variability even within a single show unit.
E-commerce production at Facility 6 is a studio-based operation involving product photography, product styling, and short-form video production. Schedules at Facility 6 are generally eight to nine hours in duration, with predictable and regularly spaced meal and rest break windows. The work is organized around discrete product shoots — individual items or product lines — that have defined durations and natural break points. Both digital content and e-commerce production involve smaller crews and shorter production cycles than AMA's larger unscripted competition shows or live events, and the scheduling and break practices in these environments differ accordingly. The experiences of employees in these divisions cannot fairly be aggregated with those of employees in AMA's other, larger, and more operationally complex show units.
11. For every production day across all of AMA's show units, AMA's production department issues a daily call sheet. The call sheet is the primary scheduling document for the production day and is distributed to all crew members in advance — typically the evening before the production day, though on some show units the call sheet is distributed earlier. Each call sheet specifies, among other things: the call time (when crew members are expected to report to the facility or location); scheduled meal breaks, including the first meal period and, where applicable, the second meal period, with planned start times for each; and the anticipated wrap time (when the production day is expected to conclude).
AMA's production protocols require that a designated meal break be included in the daily call sheet for every production day, regardless of the show unit, the facility, or the type of production. This is a company-wide requirement, and compliance with it is monitored by my office as part of my production operations oversight responsibilities. However, the actual timing and duration of breaks on any given production day may deviate from the times specified on the call sheet, based on real-time production needs. For example, if a scene or segment runs longer than anticipated, the meal break may be pushed later. If weather conditions change unexpectedly on a field shoot, the UPM may need to adjust the entire production schedule, including meal break timing. If a live event starts late due to talent or venue issues, the post-event meal break may be delayed accordingly.
The degree to which actual break times conform to the scheduled times on the call sheet varies significantly by show unit and production type. On studio-based shows with predictable production schedules, actual break times generally align closely with the call sheet. On field productions and live events, where external variables exert greater influence on the production schedule, deviations from the call sheet are more frequent and more significant. This variability further underscores the need for individualized inquiry into the circumstances of each production day and each employee's experience.
12. Plaintiffs allege in their operative complaint and in their class certification motion that AMA required its employees to perform "off-the-clock" work before their scheduled clock-in time (what Plaintiffs characterize as "pre-shift setup") and after their scheduled clock-out time (what Plaintiffs characterize as "post-shift wrap"). I am familiar with AMA's policies and practices regarding the recording of work time, and I address these allegations below.
AMA's policy, as set forth in its Employee Handbook and in written directives issued to UPMs and Line Producers, is that production coordinators, production assistants, and other non-exempt employees are expected to arrive at their assigned call time and to begin work at that call time. All compensable work time is required to be recorded in AMA's TimeTrack Pro timekeeping system, which is the electronic system used to track hours worked, meal period start and end times, and overtime for all non-exempt employees across all seven California facilities. Any setup activity that needs to occur before the general crew call time — such as equipment staging, set preparation, or other advance preparation — should be reflected in an earlier, separate call time on the call sheet for those employees whose duties require early arrival, and those employees should clock in at that earlier time.
In practice, I am aware that some crew members arrive at facilities or locations before their scheduled call time and engage in various preparatory activities — reviewing production materials, organizing personal equipment, checking email, preparing their workstations, or socializing with colleagues. AMA considers such voluntary, self-directed early arrival to be non-compensable, as it is not directed or required by management and is not a necessary precondition to the employee's ability to begin productive work at call time.
The nature and extent of any pre-shift and post-shift activity varies enormously by show unit, by the employee's role within the show unit, by the specific facility, and by the individual employee's personal work habits. On a studio-based show, a production coordinator might arrive ten to fifteen minutes early to review the day's script breakdown and production notes — a relatively brief, self-directed task. On a field production, crew members involved in equipment transport and physical setup at remote locations might begin work thirty to forty-five minutes before the general crew call time, but in those cases, the UPM is expected to set an earlier call time for those specific individuals and to ensure that their time is recorded. In post-production, there is minimal pre-shift setup — employees typically log in to their editing systems at their scheduled start time, and the nature of the work does not require significant advance preparation. For live events, pre-show setup is a major production activity that involves the entire crew and is typically reflected in the call sheet as compensable working time with an appropriately early call time.
Because the nature and extent of pre-shift and post-shift work varies by show unit, by facility, by role within the show unit, and by individual employee, Plaintiffs' off-the-clock claims cannot be resolved on a class-wide basis. Any determination of whether a particular employee performed compensable work before clocking in or after clocking out would require an individualized inquiry into that employee's specific role, the specific show unit, the specific production day, and the specific circumstances of the alleged off-the-clock activity.
13. The three named Plaintiffs in this consolidated action worked in three entirely different divisions of AMA, at three different facilities, under different supervisors, on different types of productions, during partially overlapping but not identical periods of employment. Their diverse and divergent experiences illustrate the fundamental lack of commonality among the proposed class members.
(a) Marisol Fuentes worked as a Production Coordinator in AMA's Unscripted Programming Division at Facility 2 (Studio City) from March 14, 2019 through August 5, 2022. Ms. Fuentes worked primarily on studio-based unscripted shows filmed on the sound stages at Facility 2. Her production environment was a controlled studio setting with predictable schedules, regular break opportunities, and the ability to pause production at natural break points between segments.
(b) Derek Halloran worked as a Post-Production Assistant in AMA's Digital Content Division at Facility 5 (Hollywood) from June 1, 2020 through November 30, 2022. Mr. Halloran worked in an office-based post-production environment, performing tasks such as media management, file organization, rough cut assembly, and quality control review of edited content. His work environment was fundamentally different from a production-day environment: regular hours, an indoor office setting, and the ability to pause work at any time without consequence.
(c) Yesenia Padilla worked as a Segment Coordinator in AMA's Live Events Division at Facility 4 (Burbank) from January 10, 2018 through May 17, 2022. Ms. Padilla's work involved coordinating segment timing and content for live event broadcasts, including concerts, award shows, and televised specials. Her production environment was shaped by the unique constraints of live broadcasting — fixed show times, continuous crew presence during broadcast windows, and extended production days involving setup, rehearsal, live broadcast, and teardown.
The experiences of these three named Plaintiffs with meal and rest breaks were shaped by fundamentally different production environments, schedules, supervisory structures, and operational realities. Ms. Fuentes's experience on a studio-based show at Facility 2 — a facility where, notably, the Missed Meal Attestation feature in TimeTrack Pro was not activated during the majority of her tenure — is not representative of employees at facilities where the Missed Meal Attestation feature was activated (including Facilities 1, 4, 5, and 7), or of employees in post-production or live events environments. Mr. Halloran's experience in a post-production office environment — where breaks were generally taken without interruption and where the work could be paused at any time — is not representative of the experience of employees working on production-day shoots, whether in studio, field, or live event settings. Ms. Padilla's experience in live events — with unique scheduling constraints driven by the timing of live broadcasts, continuous crew presence during broadcast windows, and extended multi-phase production days — is not representative of employees on pre-recorded shows, whether studio-based or field-based, or of employees in post-production. No single named Plaintiff's experience can fairly represent the proposed class as a whole.
14. In my role as Director of Production Operations, I have personally observed and am familiar with the supervisory practices of the UPMs and Line Producers across all fourteen of AMA's show units. I interact regularly with UPMs and Line Producers through weekly production meetings, periodic site visits to each facility, and daily communication regarding production schedules, budgets, and operational issues. Based on my direct knowledge and observation, I can confirm that supervisory practices regarding meal and rest break scheduling and enforcement vary materially across AMA's fourteen show units. These variations are not random or arbitrary; they reflect the different operational demands and logistical realities of each show unit's production environment.
Some UPMs proactively schedule meal and rest breaks at fixed times on the call sheet and enforce strict adherence to those scheduled times, pausing production at the designated hour regardless of where the production stands in its shooting schedule. These UPMs tend to work on studio-based shows where the production schedule is predictable and where pausing production has minimal cost or disruption. Other UPMs adopt a more flexible approach, scheduling breaks around natural production pauses — between scenes, during lighting setups, during talent wardrobe or makeup changes, or during equipment repositioning — rather than at fixed clock times. These UPMs tend to work on shows with less predictable production flows, where rigid adherence to fixed break times may be impractical.
On field productions, the UPM's ability to control break timing is further constrained by external factors — weather, natural light, location access, safety considerations, and terrain — that are simply not present in a studio environment. A UPM on an outdoor adventure show cannot control the sunset or a sudden rainstorm, and these factors may necessitate adjustments to the break schedule that would never arise on a studio-based show. On live events, the UPM's scheduling authority is subordinate to the live broadcast schedule, which is controlled by the network, the venue, and the talent, and which the UPM has no power to alter.
These variations in supervisory practice mean that a class-wide determination of whether AMA "provided" compliant meal and rest breaks, within the meaning of California Labor Code sections 226.7 and 512 and the relevant provisions of IWC Wage Order 12, is not possible without individualized inquiry into each show unit's specific practices, each UPM's specific supervisory approach, and each employee's specific experiences on each production day during the class period.
15. Based on my review of production schedules and TimeTrack Pro data, conducted in consultation with AMA's payroll department and Human Resources department, I can confirm that shift lengths and overtime frequency vary dramatically across AMA's fourteen show units. This variation is directly relevant to the class certification analysis because it demonstrates that the proposed class members do not share a uniform experience with respect to the fundamental factual predicates of their claims — the length of their shifts, the frequency of overtime, and the consequent applicability of meal and rest break obligations that are triggered by shift length.
The following data reflects average shift lengths and overtime frequencies across the major categories of AMA show units during the class period:
(a) Studio-based shows (e.g., "Kitchen Clash" and similar competition/game show formats at Facilities 1 and 2): Average shift length of approximately 9.2 hours. Overtime frequency — meaning the percentage of shifts exceeding eight hours — of approximately 55%. Shifts exceeding twelve hours were rare on studio-based shows, occurring on fewer than 3% of production days.
(b) Field-based shows (e.g., "Summit Challenge" and other outdoor/remote productions coordinated from Facility 4): Average shift length of approximately 13.4 hours. Overtime frequency of approximately 92% of shifts. Shifts exceeding twelve hours occurred on approximately 45% of production days. These extended shifts are a direct consequence of the logistical demands and natural-light constraints of outdoor field production.
(c) Live events (concerts, award shows, and other live programming coordinated from Facility 4): Average shift length of approximately 11.8 hours. Overtime frequency of approximately 78% of shifts. Live event production days are shaped by the fixed timing of the live broadcast and the extended setup, rehearsal, and teardown periods that bracket the broadcast.
(d) Post-production (editing, audio mixing, color correction, and quality control at Facilities 1, 5, and 7): Average shift length of approximately 8.6 hours. Overtime frequency of approximately 30% of shifts. The majority of overtime in post-production occurs during crunch periods preceding delivery deadlines, and these periods are intermittent and variable.
(e) Digital content and e-commerce production (Facilities 3 and 6): Average shift length of approximately 8.9 hours. Overtime frequency of approximately 40% of shifts. These divisions generally maintain more regular schedules, with overtime occurring primarily on on-location shoot days for digital content and during product launch periods for e-commerce content.
The variation in shift length directly impacts the meal and rest break obligations at issue in this litigation. Under California law, a second meal period is required only for shifts exceeding ten hours, and a third rest period is required only for shifts exceeding ten hours. An employee working a typical 8.6-hour post-production shift has a materially different set of meal and rest break entitlements than an employee working a 13.4-hour field production day. The proposed class encompasses employees across this entire spectrum of shift lengths and overtime frequencies, and the class members' experiences with respect to meal and rest break compliance are correspondingly non-uniform. This variation further demonstrates that individual questions — regarding each employee's specific shift lengths, the specific break obligations triggered by those shift lengths, and the specific break practices of the show unit and UPM to which that employee was assigned — predominate over any common questions.
16. Based on my over eighteen years of experience in entertainment production operations and my personal knowledge of AMA's production operations throughout the class period, I can state with confidence that the production environments, scheduling practices, supervisory structures, and meal and rest break experiences across AMA's seven California facilities and fourteen show units are materially different from one another. The experiences of employees on studio-based shows — with their controlled environments, predictable schedules, and manageable break timing — cannot be equated with the experiences of employees on field-based productions — with their extended hours, remote locations, and logistical constraints — or with the experiences of employees working live events — with their fixed broadcast schedules and continuous crew presence requirements — or with the experiences of employees in post-production — with their regular office hours and uninterrupted break opportunities.
The three named Plaintiffs each represent a different production environment, a different division, a different facility, and a different set of operational realities, and none of the three is typical of the proposed class as a whole. A class-wide determination of whether AMA "provided" compliant meal and rest breaks within the meaning of California law would require individualized inquiry into the specific circumstances of each employee's show unit, facility, supervisory practices, shift lengths, production type, and individual work experience. These are precisely the types of individualized inquiries that make class treatment unmanageable and that demonstrate the predominance of individual questions over common questions. These variations support Defendant's position that individual questions predominate over common questions and that class certification is not appropriate under California Code of Civil Procedure section 382.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed this 14th day of June, 2023, in West Hollywood, California.
________________________________________
CELINE ARROYO
CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP 777 South Flower Street, Suite 4200 Los Angeles, California 90017 Telephone: (213) 555-7800 Facsimile: (213) 555-7801
Renata Vasquez (SBN 224578) rvasquez@calderwoodharkness.com Devon Archer (SBN 301462) darcher@calderwoodharkness.com
Attorneys for Defendant AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC.
MARISOL FUENTES, DEREK HALLORAN, and YESENIA PADILLA, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, | Lead Case No. 22STCV38214
(Consolidated with Case No. 22STCV39501)
Plaintiffs,
Assigned for All Purposes to the
v. | Hon. Raymond Escobedo, Dept. 34
AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC., | DECLARATION OF CELINE ARROYO IN OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION
Defendant. | Date: July 12, 2023
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Dept.: 34

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

CELINE ARROYO

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