Judge: Jon R. Takasugi, Case: 19STCV31170, Date: 2023-08-30 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 19STCV31170    Hearing Date: August 30, 2023    Dept: 17

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

DEPARTMENT 17

TENTATIVE RULING

            Plaintiff’s motion for final approval of the Class Action and PAGA settlement is GRANTED.

            On 9/3/2019, Plaintiff Ramon Martinez (Plaintiff) on behalf of himself and all other aggrieved employees filed suit against J&J Snack Foods Corp. of California (Defendant), seeing civil penalties pursuant to the Private Attorney General Act (PAGA), and Labor Code section 2698, et seq.

Now, Plaintiff moves for final approval of the Class Action and PAGA settlement. 

            The motion is unopposed.

Discussion

The Class Action and PAGA Settlement Agreement and Class Action Notice (Settlement Agreement) provides for:

…a Gross Settlement Amount (“GSA”) of $150,000 based on an estimated 10,000 workweeks worked during the Class Period from March 7, 2021 through the date of preliminary approval. SA ¶¶8, 12, 53. The Settlement further provides that if actual workweeks exceed 11,000, Defendant will pay an additional $15.00 per workweek above 11,000 workweeks. SA ¶53.

With an estimated 30,119 Class workweeks, Defendant will pay a GSA of approximately $436,785. The GSA includes:

(a)   attorneys’ fees of up to one-third of the GSA, or $145,595 (SA ¶5);

(b)  Class Counsel costs up to $30,000 (SA ¶5);

(c) Service Award to Plaintiff of $5,000 (SA ¶9);

(d) PAGA Settlement Amount of $10,000 ($7,500 to LWDA; $2,500 to PAGA; and

(e) Administration expenses to CPT Group, Inc. in an amount estimated not to exceed $11,000 (SA ¶3)

Based on anticipated Court-approved deductions for attorneys’ fees, litigation costs, service payment, PAGA payment, and settlement administration, the estimated Net Settlement Amount (“NSA”) of $235,190 will be paid to Participating Class Members based on the number of workweeks worked during the Class Period. SA ¶37. No claim form is required. SA ¶32. Khoury Decl. ¶19.

With an estimated 30,119 weeks worked during the Class Period by 675 Class Members, a Participating Class Member can expect to receive an average $348.42 per employee or an estimated $7.80 for each week worked during the Class Period. Khoury Decl. ¶20. No part of the GSA may revert to Defendant. Khoury Decl. ¶21; SA, ¶ 5.

                        (Motion, 3:14-4:12.)

Reasonableness and fairness are presumed where (1) the settlement is reached through “arms-length bargaining”; (2) investigation and discovery are “sufficient to allow counsel and the court to act intelligently”; (3) counsel is “experienced in similar litigation”; and (4) the percentage of objectors “is small.” (Dunk v. Ford Motor Co. (1996). 48 Cal. App. 4th 1794, 1802.)

The Court reviewed the proposed settlement for these conditions in its 4/27/2023 ruling on the motion for preliminary approval. Nothing has changed since Preliminary Approval which would now negate this presumption. Moreover, the Class, after receiving notice, and having an opportunity to respond, overwhelmingly approved the Settlement, thereby further reinforcing the reasonableness of the settlement.

After review, the Court also finds the attorney fees requested (i.e., $145,595.00, one-third of the preliminary approved $436,785 GSA, and litigation costs of $26,695.27) to be reasonable. (See Chavez v. Netflix, Inc. (2008) 162 Cal. App. 4th 43, 66, n.11 (“fee awards in class actions average around one-third of the recovery.”).

Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff’s motion for final approval of the settlement is granted.

It is so ordered.

Dated:  August    , 2023

   Hon. Jon R. Takasugi
   Judge of the Superior Court

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the court at smcdept17@lacourt.org by 4 p.m. the day prior as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  If a party submits on the tentative, the party’s email must include the case number and must identify the party submitting on the tentative.  If all parties to a motion submit, the court will adopt this tentative as the final order.  If the department does not receive an email indicating the parties are submitting on the tentative and there are no appearances at the hearing, the motion may be placed off calendar.  For more information, please contact the court clerk at (213) 633-0517.