United States District Court, N.D. California, San Francisco
SANTIAGO RAYA on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs,
v.
AMAZON.COM, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company; GOLDEN STATE FC, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company and, DOES 1 through 10, inclusive, Defendants.
[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING
PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT, CONDITIONAL
CERTIFICATION, APPROVAL OF CLASS NOTICE, AND SETTING OF FINAL
FAIRNESS HEARING
Honorable Maxine M. Chesney Judge
The
Court, having fully reviewed the Motion for Order Granting
Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement, the
supporting Points and Authorities, Declarations of Class
Counsel Isam C. Khoury and Sahag Majarian II, the Joint
Stipulation of Settlement and Release (“Stipulation of
Settlement”), Notice of Class Action Settlement and
Claim Form, and the Proposed Order Granting Preliminary
Approval, and in recognition of the Court’s duty to
make a preliminary determination as to the reasonableness of
any proposed collective action settlement and, if
preliminarily determined to be reasonable, to ensure proper
notice is provided to Class Members in accordance with due
process requirements, and to conduct a Final Approval hearing
as to the good faith, fairness, adequacy and reasonableness
of any proposed settlement, HEREBY MAKES THE FOLLOWING
DETERMINATIONS AND ORDERS:
1. The
Court finds, on a preliminary basis, that the Stipulation of
Settlement incorporated in full by this reference and made a
part of this Order Granting Preliminary Approval, is within
the range of reasonableness of a settlement which could
ultimately be given final approval by this Court. The Court
notes that Defendants Amazon.com, LLC. and Golden State FC,
LLC (“Defendants”) have agreed to pay the Maximum
Settlement Amount of $600, 000 in full satisfaction of the
claims as more specifically described in the Stipulation of
Settlement.
2. The
Court also finds that, on a preliminary basis, the Settlement
is fair and reasonable to Class Members when balanced against
the probable outcome of further litigation relating to the
class action certification, liability and damages issues, and
potential appeals of rulings. The Court further finds that
significant investigation, research, litigation and
formal/informal discovery have been conducted such that
Counsel for the Parties are able to reasonably evaluate their
respective positions. The Court further finds that settlement
at this time will avoid substantial costs, delay and risks
that would be presented by the further prosecution of the
litigation, and that the proposed Settlement has been reached
as the result of intensive, informed and non-collusive
negotiations between the Parties. ACCORDINGLY, GOOD CAUSE
APPEARING, THE MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS
ACTION SETTLEMENT IS HEREBY GRANTED.
3. As a
part of said preliminary approval, the Court hereby accepts
and incorporates the Parties’ Stipulation of Settlement
and hereby conditionally certifies the following class of
persons, for settlement purposes only, pursuant to the terms
and conditions contained in said Stipulation of Settlement:
All persons employed by Golden State FC, LLC in California,
in a Warehouse
Associate position, at any time during the period from March
18, 2014 through and including August 5, 2016.
4. The
Court approves and appoints Plaintiff Santiago Raya as the
Class Representative.
5. The
Court approves and appoints Cohelan Khoury & Singer and
the Law Offices of Sahag Majarian II as Class Counsel.
6. The
Court approves and appoints Rust Consulting, Inc. as the
Claims administer to Administrator the Settlement pursuant to
the terms of the Stipulation of Settlement.
7. The
Court finds that the Notice of Class Action Settlement
(“Notice”) and the Claim Form advise of the
pendency of the Class Action, of the proposed Settlement, of
the preliminary Court approval of the proposed Settlement,
claim submission timing and procedures, objection timing and
procedures, and of the Final Approval hearing date. The Court
further finds that these documents fairly and adequately
advise Class Members of the terms of the proposed Settlement
and the rights and benefits available to Class Members
thereunder, and of the Final Approval hearing and the right
to file documentation in support of or in opposition to the
Settlement and to appear in connection with said hearing. The
Court further finds that the Notice and Claim Form clearly
comport with all constitutional requirements including those
of due process. ACCORDINGLY, GOOD CAUSE APPEARING, THE COURT
HEREBY APPROVES (1) THE PROPOSED NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION
SETTLEMENT, AND (2) THE PROPOSED CLAIM FORM ATTACHED AS
EXHIBITS HERETO;
8. The
Court finds that the mailing to the present and last known
address of the members of the above-named Class constitutes
an effective method of notifying Class Members of their
rights with respect to the Class Action and Settlement.
ACCORDINGLY, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
A. No later than August 26, 2016, Defendant shall forward to
the appointed Claims Administrator, Rust Consulting, Inc.,
the Class Data (formatted as a Microsoft Office Excel
spreadsheet) which will include for each Class Member the
following: (1) full name; (2) last known address and
telephone number to the extent available in Defendant’s
business records; (3) social security number; and (4) dates
of employment;
B. No later than September 9, 2016, Rust Consulting, Inc.,
shall mail to each Class Member, by first class, postage
pre-paid, the Notice of Class Action Settlement, Claim Form,
and pre-printed, postage paid return ...