Judge: Lon F. Hurwitz, Case: 2019-01111809, Date: 2023-04-14 Tentative Ruling

Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class/PAGA Settlement

RULING: The hearing on this motion is continued to April 14, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. in Department CX103 so that plaintiff may address the issues identified below.

It is not necessary for plaintiff to resubmit briefing which has already been filed with the court. Supplemental declarations or other supplemental materials shall be filed at least nine (9) court days prior to the hearing. If a revised settlement, declaration(s), and/or proposed Notice are submitted, a redlined version showing all changes, deletions, and additions must also be submitted electronically to the Court.

1. The motion and declarations in support do not state the size of the class. This is particularly important due to the court-calculated net settlement value, which appears to be a mere 20% of the reasonable settlement value. (See Procedural Guideline No. 3.)

2. Please provide figures for high, low, and average individual recoveries. (See Procedural Guideline No. 3.)

3. The estimated exposure on claims is not fully developed or supported, as no calculations were provided. Again, this is of particular importance court-calculated net settlement value as compared to the reasonable settlement value. (See Procedural Guideline No. 3.)

4. The gross settlement amount of $450,000 appears to be approximately 35% of the reasonable value total of $1,287,698.10. Why was the settlement value further discounted by 65%?

5. The court intends to grant an enhancement of $5,000 rather than the $10,000 requested.

6. Based on a class size of 250 members, the individual recover is approximately $966 each, or less than 0.1% of the reasonable settlement value as calculated by the moving party. Why is this figure reasonable, particularly in light of counsel’s requested fee award of 35% of the total settlement?

7. The Memorandum of Points and Authorities does not discuss whether the Notice to the class members should or should not be distributed in a language or languages other than English. Why or why not?

8. The release appears to include a release of tort causes of action. Why should the release include this language when the operative complaint does not contain any torts?

The hearing has been continued to the first available date. There are no earlier dates available.

The court does not require any physical or remote appearance at the hearing scheduled for December 9, 2022.