Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 23SMCV00366, Date: 2024-11-25 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23SMCV00366    Hearing Date: November 25, 2024    Dept: I

The matter is here for a final status conference.  However, the court has received a notice of settlement.  Because this case is a PAGA case, court approval of the settlement is required.  The settlement has been lodged with the court.  The court has reviewed the settlement and has the following thoughts.  The court is inclined to APPROVE the settlement, but that assumes it is reading certain things correctly.  As the court understands it, plaintiff’s counsel is not seeking a fee and plaintiff is not seeking a special payment.  The employees who would recover under the settlement are waiving their right to bring a PAGA action, but are not waiving their right to sue for any underlying violations and to seek damages in their own right, except for the named plaintiff.  The named plaintiff has no other action against the defendant that is being or has been settled related to employment issues.  Assuming that all of that is true, the court will APPROVE the settlement.  However, the court does note that the administrative costs are almost as much as the employees are receiving.  That is unfortunate, but the court cannot think of any other way to do it.  The court will require a stand alone order.