Judge: William D. Claster, Case: 22-01248057, Date: 2022-11-04 Tentative Ruling

Plaintiff Laura Scattergood's Notice of Motion and Unopposed Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement ROA 43

Plaintiff’s motion for preliminary approval of class action settlement is CONTINUED to December 16, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. in Department CX104 to permit the parties to respond to the following items of concern.  Any supplemental briefing shall be filed on or before December 7, 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. 

As to the Settlement:

  1. Because of fraud concerns, replacement gift cards are limited to one per household or IP address.  What happens if a class member legitimately had multiple gift cards that were discarded?  Is there a way for that class member to request more cards?

 

2.            Please provide for 60 days, rather than 45, for objections and opt-outs.

 

3.            The definition of “Released Claims” should be amended to include the following bolded language.  It should cover claims that were “alleged or could have alleged based on the facts pled in the Action.  It should also cover claims that were “brought or could have been brought based on the facts pled in the Action.”

 

4.            Class counsel is to administer the settlement.  What experience does class counsel have in administering a settlement like this?

 

5.            Class counsel offers to provide “a detailed explanation of how the parties reached” the fees/costs and incentive amounts at final approval.  (Fineman Decl., ¶ 14.)  Please do so.

 

As to the Forms/Notices:

  1. Should the claims form and notices be provided in any languages other than English?

 

  1. If any changes are made to the settlement agreement, please make all necessary corresponding changes to the claims form and notices.

 

  1. The font size in the actual claims form and notices may not be smaller than the font size in the proposed documents provided to the Court.

 

  1. Specific to the claims form:

 

    1. It says “DISPOSED OF IT DISPOSED OF THE GIFT CARD,” which appears to be a typographical error.

 

    1. It provides for a limit of 438 claims.  The agreement provides for 439.

 

  1. Specific to the full notice:

 

    1. The full notice (and later the claims form) will be posted on a website, LUSA-GC.com.  Why is the address this abbreviation rather than something more straightforward and descriptive, for example (and without limitation), LacosteGiftCardSettlement.com?

 

    1. The “What Does the Settlement Provide” section should be reformatted as a numbered or bullet-pointed list instead of a lengthy, dense single paragraph.

 

    1. The final approval hearing will be in Department CX104, not CX102.

 

    1. Please provide remote appearance instructions for the final approval hearing.

 

  1. Specific to the summary notice:

 

    1. Where in the store will the notice be posted?  It should be in a location likely to be seen by customers.