Ricardo Casas v. Belfor USA Group, Inc. et al

Filing 49

JUDGMENT AND ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT by Judge George H. King. (MD JS-6, Case Terminated). (bm)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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RICARDO CASAS,an individual, on) CASE NO.CV 14-9591-GHK(MRWx)
behalf of himself and all others
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)JUDGMENT AND ORDER
12 similarly situated,
GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF
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Plaintiffs,
CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT
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v.
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BELFOR USA GROUP,INC., a
Colorado Corporation; and, DOES 1
17 through 10, inclusive,

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Defendants.
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Plaintiff Ricardo Casas and Defendant Belfor USA Group, Inc. have reached
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a settlement of a putative class action. On May 25, 2016, this Court:(1)

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preliminarily certified a class for settlement purposes;(2)preliminarily approved

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the terms of the proposed class action; and(3)authorized notice to the Settlement

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Class ofthe terms of the proposed Settlement. Having completed the notice process

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and no objectors having come forward, Plaintiff moves for final approval of a class

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action settlement ofthe claims asserted against Defendant, memorialized in the

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Amended Class Action Settlement Agreement("Settlement" or "Settlement

9 Agreement"). (Dkt. 41-1.) Capitalized terms in this Order shall have the same
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meaning as in the Settlement Agreement unless stated otherwise.
After reviewing the Settlement Agreement, the Motion for Order Granting

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Final Approval, and other related documents, and having heard the argument of

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counsel for the respective Parties, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:

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1.

The Court has jurisdiction over the Parties to this action, including all

members of the Class as defined in the Settlement Agreement.
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The Court finds and concludes, for purposes of settlement only, that

the proposed Class satisfies the applicable standards for certification under Federal

18 Rule of Civil Procedure 23. The requirements of Rule 23(a) are satisfied because
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the Class is so numerous that joinder of all Class members is impracticable, there

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are questions oflaw or fact common to the Class, the claims of Plaintiff are typical

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ofthe claims of the Class, and Plaintiff will fairly and adequately protect the

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interests ofthe Class. The requirements of Rule 23(b)(3) are satisfied because

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questions of law or fact common to Class Members predominate over any questions

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affecting only individual Class Members, and the class action device is superior to

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other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating this controversy.

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Accordingly, solely for the purposes of effectuating this Settlement, the Court

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hereby certifies the Class as defined below:

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All persons employed by Belfor USA Group, Inc., in California

as non-exempt, hourly paid technicians at any time during the
period from September 24, 2010 through January 31, 2016.

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The Court hereby grants final approval ofthe Settlement Agreement as

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it meets the criteria for final settlement approval. The Settlement is fair, adequate,

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and reasonable; appears to be the product of arms'-length and informed

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negotiations; and treats all Class members fairly.

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The Class Notice approved by the Court was mailed to each member of

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the Class by first-class mail on June 24, 2016. The Notice informed Class Members

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ofthe terms of the Settlement, of their right to receive their proportional share of

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the Settlement without the need to return a claim form, of their right to comment

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upon and request to be excluded from the Settlement or object to the Settlement,

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and oftheir right to appear in person or by counsel at the time of the Final Approval

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hearing. Follow-up efforts were made to send the Class Notice to those individuals

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whose original Class Notices were returned undeliverable.

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5.

The Court has determined that the Notice given to the Class fully and

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accurately informed the Class of all material elements ofthe proposed Settlement,

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constituted the best practicable notice, and fully meets the requirements of Rule 23

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and the U.S. Constitution.

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There were no requests for exclusion from the Settlement. The Court

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hereby orders that all Class Members have released all claims or causes of action

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settled under the terms ofthe Settlement Agreement. All Class Members are

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hereby forever barred and enjoined from commencing or prosecuting any of the

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claims, either directly or in any other capacity, that are released by the Settlement

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Agreement.

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Having received no objections, and the time for submitting such

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objections having passed, the Court finds that no valid objections have been

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submitted and no objections will be considered by the Court. Class Members who

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did not timely object to the Settlement set forth in the Settlement Agreement are
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barred from prosecuting or pursuing any appeal of this Order.
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The Settlement embodied in the Settlement Agreement is not an

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admission by Defendant nor is this Order a finding ofthe validity of any claims in

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the litigation or of any wrongdoing by Defendant. Neither this Order, the

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Settlement Agreement, any document referred to herein, nor any action taken to

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carry out the terms of the Settlement Agreement may be construed as, or may be

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used as, an admission by or against Defendant of any fault, wrongdoing, or liability

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whatsoever.

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The Court hereby appoints Plaintiff Ricardo Casas as the Class

Representative in this action.
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The Court hereby appoints Cohelan, Khoury &Singer and the Law

Office of Sahag Majarian, II as Class Counsel.
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The Court finds and determines that the Settlement payments to be

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paid to Class Members as provided for by the Settlement are fair and reasonable.

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The Court hereby grants final approval to and orders the payment ofthose amounts

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be made to all Class Members in accordance with the terms ofthe Settlement.

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12.

The Court approves the settlement of claims under the California

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Private Attorneys General Act("PAGA"), California Labor Code §§ 2698 et seq.,

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as set forth in the Settlement Agreement and approves payment to the California

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Labor and Workforce Development Agency in the amount of $3,750.00 in

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accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement.

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13.

Plaintiffls application for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of

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litigation costs is granted as follows: Upon consideration of the relevant factors, the

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Court grants an award of attorneys' fees in the amount of$122,500.00, representing

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5% ofthe total settlement amount. See Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp., 290 F.3d

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1043, 1048-50(9th Cir. 2002). The Court grants litigation costs in the amount of

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$21,194.31.
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The Court awards Class Representative Ricardo Casas a Service

2 Payment of$5,000.00 as fair and reasonable compensation for his services to the
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Class.

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The Court further directs payment of$8,000.00 to the Settlement

Administrator, Phoenix Settlement Administrators, for services rendered and to be
rendered in connection with the completion of its administrative duties pursuant to

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the Settlement.

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The Parties are hereby ordered to comply with the terms of the

Settlement.

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The Court finds that no just reason exists for delay in entering this

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Judgment and Final Approval Order. This Order shall constitute a final judgment

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with respect to the claims of Plaintiff and the Class for purposes of Rule 58 of the

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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

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The Court hereby orders that, without affecting the finality ofthe

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Judgment, it reserves continuing jurisdiction over the matter and the Parties for the

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purposes ofimplementing, enforcing, and/or administering the Settlement or

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enforcing the terms ofthe Judgment.

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19.

The Parties shall bear their own costs and attorneys' fees except as

otherwise provided by the Settlement Agreement and this Order.
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Immediately upon entry of this Judgment and Order, the operative

Complaint in this action shall be dismissed in its entirety with prejudice.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

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,2016
Hon. George H. King
United States District J

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