United States District Court, N.D. California
MATTHEW GUNDERSON, an individual, on his own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiff,
v.
CARLSON WAGONLIT TRAVEL, INC., a Delaware corporation; FACEBOOK, INC., a Delaware corporation, Defendants.
BRADLEY/GROMBACHER, LLP MARCUS J. BRADLEY, ESQ., KILEY L.
GROMBACHER, ESQ. ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF, MATTHEW GUNDERSON
[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING
MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT
Hon.
Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers United States District Judge
Having
considered the motion for final approval of class action
settlement and the motion for attorneys' fees and
expenses, the arguments of counsel at the October 15, 2019
hearing, the declarations, and the record in this case, THE
COURT HEREBY ORDERS AS FOLLOWS:
1. This
Order incorporates by reference the definitions in the Joint
Stipulation of Settlement and Release of Claims
(“Settlement Agreement”) (a copy of which is
attached hereto as Exhibit “A”). All terms
defined therein shall have the same meaning in this Order as
set forth in the Settlement Agreement.
2. This
Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this
litigation and over all Parties to this litigation, including
the Plaintiffs and Class Members.
3.
Pursuant to the Preliminary Approval Order, the appointed
Settlement Administrator, ILYM Group, Inc. mailed a Notice of
Settlement to all known Class Members by First Class U.S.
Mail. The Notice of Settlement fairly and adequately informed
Class Members of the terms of the proposed Settlement and the
benefits available to Class Members thereunder. The Notice of
Settlement further informed Class Members of the pendency of
the Action, of the proposed Settlement, of Class Members'
right to receive their share of the Settlement, of the scope
and effect of the Settlement's Released Claims, of Class
Members' rights and obligations relating to the
prospective relief provided through the Settlement, of the
preliminary Court approval of the proposed Settlement, of
exclusion and objection timing and procedures, of the date of
the Final Approval Hearing, and of the right to file
documentation in support of or in opposition to the
Settlement and to appear in connection with the Final
Approval Hearing. Class Members had adequate time to consider
this information and to use the procedures identified in the
Notice. The Court finds and determines that this notice
procedure afforded adequate protections to Class Members and
provides the basis for the Court to make an informed decision
regarding approval of the Settlement based on the responses
of Class Members. The Court finds and determines that the
Notice provided in the Action was the best notice
practicable, which satisfied the requirements of law and due
process.
4. In
response to the Notice, zero (0) Class Members objected to
the Settlement and two (2) Class Members, Jaymey Butler and
Sonia Vaswami requested exclusion from the Settlement.
5. For
purposes of this Order and for this Settlement only, the
Court hereby certifies the Class, as defined in the
Settlement Agreement which is attached hereto as Exhibit
“A”. This Court hereby approves the Settlement
set forth in the Settlement Agreement, including payment of
the Gross Settlement Amount ($150, 000.00), which includes
the amounts listed herein under Paragraphs 5-8 herein, and
all other terms set forth therein, and finds that the
Settlement Agreement is, in all respects, fair, reasonable
and adequate to the Parties and Class Members and directs the
Parties to effectuate the settlement according to its terms.
The amounts listed below in Paragraphs 5-8 are included
within, and not additional to, the Gross Settlement Amount
approved by this Court.
6. For
purposes of this Order and this Settlement only, the Court
hereby confirms the appointment of Plaintiff Matthew
Gunderson as the class representative for the Class. Further,
the Court finally approves the Service Award, as fair and
reasonable, to Plaintiff Matthew Gunderson in the amount of
$2, 500. The Court hereby orders the Settlement Administrator
to distribute the Service Award to the Plaintiff in
accordance with the provisions of the Settlement.
7. For
purposes of this Order and this Settlement only, the Court
hereby confirms the appointment of Marcus J. Bradley of
Bradley/Grombacher, LLP as Class Counsel. Class Counsel is
awarded $37, 500.00 for their reasonable attorneys' fees.
Class Counsel is awarded reasonable costs and expenses
incurred in the Lawsuit in the amount of $10, 000.00.
8. For
purposes of this Order and this Settlement only, the Court
hereby confirms the appointment of ILYM Group, Inc. as the
Settlement Administrator to administer the Settlement of this
matter as more specifically set forth in the Settlement
Agreement and further finally approves Settlement
Administration Costs, as fair and reasonable, of $3, 500.00.
9. The
California Labor Workforce and Development Agency is awarded
the amount of $6, 000.00.
10.
Except as otherwise provided in this Order Granting Final
Approval of the Motion for Class Action Settlement and for
Award of Enhancement to Class Representative and for
Attorneys' Fees and Costs (“Final Approval
Order”), the parties shall bear their own costs and
attorneys' fees.
11. The
Court finds that the Settlement offers significant monetary
recovery to all Monetary Payment Class Members and finds that
such recovery is fair, adequate and reasonable when balanced
against further litigation related to liability and damages
issues. The Court further finds that investigation,
discovery, and research have been conducted such that Class
Counsel and Defense Counsel are able to reasonably evaluate
their respective positions at this time. The Court finds that
the proposed Settlement, at this time, will avoid substantial
additional costs by all Parties, as well as avoid the risks
and delay inherent to further prosecution of the Action. The
Court further finds that the Settlement has been reached as
the result of intensive, serious and non-collusive,
arms-length negotiations. Thus, the Court ...