Judge: William D. Claster, Case: 16-00893360, Date: 2022-09-16 Tentative Ruling

Plaintiff Rachael Segui's Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement  ROA 495

Plaintiffs’ motion for final approval of class action settlement is CONTINUED to October 28, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. in Department CX104 to permit the parties to respond to the following item of concern.  Any supplemental briefing shall be filed on or before October 19, 2022.  If a revised settlement agreement and/or class notice is submitted, a redline showing all changes, deletions, and additions must be submitted as well. 

In the preliminary approval process, the Court expressed concern that the GSA might be used to pay employer-side taxes.  Plaintiffs’ supplemental brief responded: “Defendant is unwilling to contribute additional funds to be paid towards taxes absent a requirement of the Court.”  (ROA 475 at p. 4.)  Accordingly, the Court’s minute order granting preliminary approval directed the administrator to estimate employer-side taxes so that they could be deducted from the GSA for purposes of a fee award.  (ROA 481.)

The administrator’s declaration submitted with the final approval papers states: “Pursuant to the terms set forth in the Class Action Settlement Agreement, the employer’s share of payroll taxes allocated to wages will be paid in addition to the Settlement Amount and are currently estimated to be $18,263.33.”  (ROA 499, ¶ 15 [emphasis added].)

Are employer-side taxes paid out of the GSA, or in addition to the GSA?  This needs to be cleared up under oath before a final approval analysis can proceed.