Judge: Cherol J. Nellon, Case: 21STCV38247, Date: 2025-02-19 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 21STCV38247 Hearing Date: February 19, 2025 Dept: 14
#3
Case Background
Plaintiff Santiago
Alvarez (“Plaintiff”) filed his Complaint against Defendant Biagi Bros, Inc
(“Defendant”) and Does 1-100. The Complaint asserts a cause of action for PAGA violations.
Instant Pleading
Plaintiff moves for approval of PAGA settlement.
Decision
Plaintiff’s motion for approval of the PAGA
settlement agreement is GRANTED.
Legal Standard
Labor Code, section 2699 states, in
pertinent part, as follows:
“(a) Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any provision of this code that provides for a civil penalty
to be assessed and collected by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency or
any of its departments, divisions, commissions, boards, agencies, or employees,
for a violation of this code, may, as an alternative, be recovered through a
civil action brought by an aggrieved employee on behalf of himself or herself
and other current or former employees pursuant to the procedures specified in
Section 2699.3…
…
(i) Except as provided in
subdivision (j), civil penalties recovered by aggrieved employees shall be
distributed as follows: 75 percent to the Labor and Workforce Development
Agency for enforcement of labor laws, including the administration of this
part, and for education of employers and employees about their rights and
responsibilities under this code, to be continuously appropriated to supplement
and not supplant the funding to the agency for those purposes; and 25 percent
to the aggrieved employees.
…
(l)(1) For cases
filed on or after July 1, 2016, the aggrieved employee or representative shall,
within 10 days following commencement of a civil action pursuant to this part,
provide the Labor and Workforce Development Agency with a file-stamped copy of
the complaint that includes the case number assigned by the court.
(2) The superior court shall review
and approve any settlement of any civil action filed pursuant to this part. The
proposed settlement shall be submitted to the agency at the same time that it
is submitted to the court…”
Discussion
The terms of the proposed settlement are as follows.
Defendant will pay a total $195,000. (Mot. for Approval at p.3.) Defendant will
pay $68,250 in attorney’s fees and $70,528.53 in costs to Plaintiff’s counsel,
$10,000 to Plaintiff for the resolution of Plaintiff’s individual claims, in
exchange for his Civil Code section 1542 waiver and as an incentive payment for
bringing this action on behalf of the State of California and his coworkers; and
$3,850 to the settlement administrator. (Id.) The net settlement is $42,371.47.
The LWDA will receive $31,778.60 of the net settlement, which represents 75% of
the net settlement. The aggrieved employees will receive $10,892.87 of the net
settlement, representing 25% of the net settlement.
The proposed settlement satisfies the requirements of
Labor Code, section 2699. The LWDA has been notified of the settlement as
required by the statute, and they have chosen not to object. In the absence of
any objection from the LWDA, the motion is GRANTED.
Conclusion
Plaintiff’s motion for approval of the PAGA
settlement agreement is GRANTED.