Judge: William D. Claster, Case: JCCP5138, Date: 2022-09-30 Tentative Ruling

Plaintiffs Karlie Brodhagen, Gianni Castillo, Hllister Higgins, Gabriel Jennings, Francisco Vargas, and Angelina Velazquez's Notice of Motion and Motion for Final Approval of Class Action and PAGA Settlement   211

Plaintiffs’ motion for final approval of class action settlement is GRANTED.  The Court approves the following distributions:

1.    Attorney’s fees in the amount of $2,000,000.  The Court finds this amount to be a reasonable result in light of the quality of the result obtained, the work performed by class counsel, a review of the billing records provided, and the estimated lodestar.  In approving these amounts and examining the billing records provided, the Court is not approving any particular hourly billing rates proposed by class counsel.  Per the settlement agreement, these fees are to be paid from the portions of the GSA allocated to the class claims and the LWDA’s share of the PAGA settlement, not the individual share of the PAGA settlement.

2.    Litigation costs in the amount of $41,169.87.  Per the settlement agreement, these costs are to be paid from the portions of the GSA allocated to the class claims and the LWDA’s share of the PAGA settlement, not the individual share of the PAGA settlement.

3.    Administration costs in the amount of $35,950, per the administrator’s declaration.  Per the settlement agreement, these costs are to be paid solely from the portion of the GSA allocated to the class claims.

4.    Enhancements of $5,000 apiece to each Plaintiff, for a total of $30,000.  In making this award, the Court has considered only the factors set forth in Golba v. Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. (2015) 238 Cal.App.4th 1251 and Clark v. Am. Residential Servs. LLC (2009) 175 Cal.App.4th 785.  Per the settlement agreement, these enhancements are to be paid solely from the portion of the GSA allocated to the class claims.

5.    Following the foregoing deductions, the remainder of the portion of the GSA allocated to the LWDA’s share of the PAGA settlement is to be paid to the LWDA.

Please submit a revised proposed order that conforms to the foregoing for the Court’s signature and identifies by name the one class member who opted out.

Pursuant to CCP § 384(b), Plaintiff shall submit to the Court a final report on or before May 5, 2023 setting forth the actual amounts paid to class members and other amounts disbursed pursuant to the settlement.  Upon receiving the report, the Court will determine whether further reports and/or a hearing will be necessary.