In Gainey v. Occidental Land Research (1986) 186 Cal.App.3d 1051, the trial court had found the action to be a proper class action and approved the plaintiff's draft of a notice to class members, which gave members the chance to opt out by notifying the trial court. (Id. at p. 1056.) During the opt-out period, the defendant unilaterally sent its own notice to class members presenting its defense, emphasizing possible disadvantages to members who did not request exclusion, and enclosing a form which members could use to opt out of the class. (Id. at pp. 1056-1057.) By the time the plaintiff moved for relief, 80 class members opted out using the defendant's form. (Id. at p. 1057, fn. 5.) The trial court denied the plaintiff's request that those class members who returned the defendant's exclusion form be returned to the class, and that a corrective notice be sent giving them a new period to determine whether or not to opt out. (Id. at pp. 1057-1059.) The appellate court reversed the trial court's denial. It held that "the notice is a matter of extreme importance, committed to the discretion of the court, not the 'whim of the litigants.' " (Gainey, supra, 186 Cal.App.3d at p. 1057.) Therefore, "once the content of the notice has been approved by the court, the defendant cannot send out its own competing and argumentative notice and invitation to the class members to opt out.Such conduct defeats the whole point of the court's holding a hearing to approve the notice to the class." (Id. at p. 1058.) The appellate court specifically rejected the defendant's argument that case law indicated it had an unrestricted right to communicate with class members during this period, as the cases involved either precertification or court-approved communications. (Ibid.)