Judge: Glenda Sanders, Case: 2021-01195684, Date: 2022-11-03 Tentative Ruling
Having considered the papers, including all supplemental papers, filed in connection with the unopposed Motion for Preliminary Approval of $361,250 Class and PAGA Action Settlement, the Court is inclined to GRANT the Motion subject to the following:
$ 10,000.00 for Plaintiff’s enhancement (not to exceed);
$ 120,416.66 for Attorney’s Fees (not to exceed 1/3 of the MSA);
$ 15,000.00 for reasonable Litigation costs (not to exceed);
$ 15,500.00 for Settlement Administrator’s Fees and Costs (not to exceed); and
$ 26,250.00 for the LWDA share of the $35,000 total PAGA penalties.
Plaintiff is ordered to make the following revisions and submit a revised Class Notice, Share Form and proposed Order within 5 court days:
As to the Class Notice
1. In §IV, p. 4, third paragraph, the phrase “and will hold the Released Parties harmless from,” should be deleted. See ROA 110, Supp. Seyedfarshi Decl., Ex. B [Clean Revised Class Notice], ¶IV.
2. In §V, p. 6, fourth paragraph, delete the last sentence, i.e. “The Release Period shall be the Class Period”. It appears to conflict with the PAGA Release and Section 10.1 of the Amended Settlement.
3. In §V, p. 6, fifth paragraph, the definition of “Released Parties” should be revised to be consistent with the definition of “Released Parties in the Amended Settlement. See ROA 93, Supp. Seyedfarshi Decl., Ex. A, ¶1.36.
4. In § VI.D, p. 8, the department should be changed to CX101.
As to the Share Form
1. On p. 2, first line, “shifts” should be replaced with “Work Weeks”.
2. On p. 2, second to last sentence, “if any” should be inserted after “documentation” and before “must”.
As to the proposed Order
1. Throughout the proposed Order, when referring to the Amended Joint Stipulation re: Class Action Settlement, the defined term “Settlement Agreement” should be used consistently rather than sometimes using the terms “Settlement Agreement” and “Amended Settlement Agreement”. See e.g., ¶¶ 1 and 2.
2. In the caption and paragraph 3, the department should be updated to CX101.
3. The certified Spanish translations of the Class Notice, Share Form and Exclusion Form should be included in Exhibits 2, 3 and 4. See paragraph 4.
4. In paragraph 7.c, delete the phrase “an amount which the Court finds to be reflective of the reasonable costs incurred”.
5. In paragraph 7.d, the phrase “is fair and reasonable” should be deleted.
6. In paragraph 7.e, replace “$35,000” with “$26,250.00”, the correct amount due to the LWDA for the PAGA penalties. Additionally, delete the phrase “and orders the payment to be made in accordance with the Agreement”.
7. Delete paragraphs 8 and 8 (erroneously numbered 7 and 8) since this is not final approval.
8. In ¶13 (erroneously numbered 12) of the Implementation Schedule, ¶c states “Extended deadline for Defendant to remail notice”. What is this referring to? This needs to be clarified and should include a citation to the Settlement Agreement like the other deadlines.
9. In ¶13 of the Implementation Schedule, in the last sentence in the first column in ¶d, insert “also” between “can” and “appear”.
10. In ¶13 of the Implementation Schedule, the extended deadline for objections, exclusions and disputes for remailed notices in ¶¶e and f is 15 days after the Response Deadline. See ROA 93, Supp. Seyedfarshi Decl., Ex. A, ¶¶6.5, p. 21 (Opt Outs), 6.6, p. 22 (Objections), 7.9 p. 26 (Disputes). Additionally, in ¶f, replace “¶6.4” with “¶7.9”.
11. The parties should propose a date for the final approval hearing, which are held on Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. in this department.
Should the revisions be satisfactory to the Court, the Motion will be granted. In there are any issues with the revised papers, these issues may be addressed at the continued hearing. In the event the revisions are not satisfactory to the Court, CONTINUES the hearing to December 15, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. in this department.
Plaintiff is ordered to give notice, including to the LWDA, and file a proof of service.