Turk v. Gale/Triangle, Inc. et al

Filing 21

ORDER signed by District Judge Morrison C. England, Jr on 11/17/16 GRANTING 8 Motion for Preliminary Aproval of Settlement and Release Agreement. (Washington, S)

1 S. BRETT SUTTON 143107
JARED HAGUE 251517
2 JOSEPH V. MACIAS 273168
SUTTON HAGUE LAW CORPORATION
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6715 N. Palm Avenue, Suite 216
4 Fresno, California 93704
Telephone: [phone]
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Attorneys for Plaintiff: STEVE TURK
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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10 STEVE TURK, an individual,
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Case No. 2:16-cv-00783-MCE-DB

Plaintiff,

ORDER PRELIMINARILY
APPROVING SETTLEMENT AND
RELEASE AGREEMENT

vs.

GALE/TRIANGLE, INC. a New Jersey
14 corporation; and PERFORMANCE TEAM
15 FREIGHT SYSTEMS, INC., a California
corporation; and Does 1 through 50, inclusive,
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Defendants.
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Date:
September 29, 2016
Time:
2:00 p.m.
Courtroom: 7
Judge: Hon. Morrison C. England, Jr.

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Sutton Hague
Law Corporation
6715 N. P ALM A VENUE
S UITE 216
F RESNO, CA 93704

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__________________________________________________________________________________________________

ORDER PRELIMINARILY APPROVING SETTLEMENT AND RELEASE AGREEMENT

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I. RECITALS
WHEREAS, this action is pending before this Court as a putative class action (the

3 “Action”); and
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WHEREAS, the Parties have jointly applied to this Court for an order preliminarily

5 approving the settlement of the Action in accordance with a Class Settlement Agreement (the
6 “Settlement”), which, together with the exhibits annexed thereto, sets forth the terms and
7 conditions for a proposed settlement and entry of judgment upon the terms and conditions set
8 forth therein; and
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WHEREAS, the Court has read and considered the Parties’ Joint Motion for Preliminary

10 Approval, Memorandum of Points and Authorities, declarations and Request for Judicial Notice
11 in support thereof and the exhibits annexed thereto.
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II. FINDINGS
After review and consideration of the Parties’ Settlement and the papers in support of the

14 Preliminary Approval Motion, the Court finds as follows:
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1.

That certification of the Settlement Class solely for purposes of Settlement is

16 appropriate in that: 1) the Class Members are so numerous that joinder of all Class Members is
17 impracticable; 2) there are questions of law and fact common to the Class which predominate
18 over any individual questions; 3) Plaintiff’s claims are typical of the claims of the Settlement
19 Class; 4) Plaintiff and his counsel have fairly and adequately represented and protected the
20 interests of the Class; and 5) a class action, and class-wide resolution of the action via class
21 settlement procedures is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient
22 adjudication of the controversy.
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2.

That the Settlement, and the obligations of the Parties set forth therein, is fair,

24 reasonable, and is an adequate settlement of this case and is in the best interests of the Settlement
25 Class in light of the factual, legal, practical, and procedural considerations raised by this case.
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3.

That Plaintiff does not have any conflicts that would preclude him from serving as

27 Class Representative, and that his appointment comports with the requirements of due process.
Sutton Hague
Law Corporation
6715 N. PALM AVENUE
SUITE 216
FRESNO, CA 93704

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__________________________________________________________________________________________________

ORDER PRELIMINARILY APPROVING SETTLEMENT AND RELEASE AGREEMENT

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4.

That Counsel for Plaintiff does not have any conflicts that would preclude them

2 from acting as Class Counsel, and that they meet the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil
3 Procedure for appointment as Class Counsel and the requirements of due process.
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5.

That Plaintiff’s proposed plan for class notice and settlement administration is the

5 best notice practicable under the circumstances and is in full compliance with the Federal Rules
6 of Civil Procedure and the requirements of due process, and that the Notice of Class Action
7 Settlement complies with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the requirements of due
8 process, and is appropriate as part of the proposed plan for notice to Class Members.
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6.

That the Settlement provides for an incentive award to Plaintiff of up to $10,000,

10 whereas the Notice of Class Action Settlement (Sections 8 and 20) provides for an incentive
11 award of up to $7,500.
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7.

That Section 11 of the Notice of Class Action Settlement mistakenly provides that

13 the final approval hearing will be in the Northern District of California, and Section 22
14 mistakenly provides that Judge Strauss will preside over that hearing.
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III. ORDER

16 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED as follows:
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1.

Pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the proposed

18 Settlement of this action, as embodied in the terms of the Settlement attached to the Preliminary
19 Approval Motion, is hereby preliminarily approved as a fair, reasonable, and adequate settlement
20 of this case in the best interests of the Settlement Class, in light of the factual, legal, practical,
21 and procedural considerations raised by this case. The Settlement is incorporated by reference
22 into this Order and is hereby preliminarily adopted as an Order of this Court.
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2.

Solely for the purpose of the Settlement, the Court hereby preliminarily certifies

24 the stipulated Settlement Class as defined within the Settlement.
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3.

PLAINTIFF is hereby preliminarily appointed as Class Representative.

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4.

S. Brett Sutton and Jared Hague of Sutton Hague Law Corporation, P.C. are

27 preliminarily appointed as Class Counsel.
Sutton Hague
Law Corporation
6715 N. PALM AVENUE
SUITE 216
FRESNO, CA 93704

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5.

Simpluris, Inc. is appointed as the Claims Administrator.
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__________________________________________________________________________________________________

ORDER PRELIMINARILY APPROVING SETTLEMENT AND RELEASE AGREEMENT

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Plaintiff’s proposed plan for class notice and settlement administration is

2 approved and adopted and the Notice of Class Action Settlement is approved and adopted.
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7.

No later than seven (7) days after entry of this Order, Defendants shall provide the

4 Claims Administrator with a list of Class Members containing names, social security numbers,
5 and last-known addresses.
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No later than ten (10) days after entry of this Order, the Claims Administrator

7 shall send the initial mailing to the Class, including the Notice of Class Action Settlement
8 (“Initial Mailing”). The Initial Mailing will be mailed via first-class mail.
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Within twenty-eight (28) days after the Initial Mailing, the Claims Administrator

10 shall determine whether any Class Notice is returned as Undeliverable. If so, the Claims
11 Administrator shall perform at least one of two methods of skip-tracing (a search of the NCOA
12 database and/or a search through Experian) to locate the most accurate address of the intended
13 recipient. If the Initial Mailing is not returned as Undeliverable within 28 days of the Initial
14 Mailing, it shall be presumed that the intended member of the Settlement Class has received the
15 Initial Mailing.
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10.

Any objections to the Settlement or requests for exclusion may be made in writing

17 and filed with the Court and served on Class Counsel and Defense Counsel no later than forty18 five (45) days from the date upon which the Claims Administrator issues the Initial Mailing.
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11.

Plaintiff shall file a Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs on or before December

20 12, 2016, such that the Class Members will have at least twenty-one (21) days prior to the
21 deadline to respond to the Class Notice to evaluate Class Counsel’s attorney fee request.
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12.

Plaintiff shall file a Motion for Final Approval, including any information

23 intended to support his request for an incentive award, and cost of Settlement Administration, on
24 or before January 12, 2016.
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13.

The hearing for Plaintiff’s Motion for Final Approval of Settlement and Release

26 Agreement is hereby scheduled for February 23, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. in Courtroom 7.
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Sutton Hague
Law Corporation
6715 N. PALM AVENUE
SUITE 216
FRESNO, CA 93704

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ORDER PRELIMINARILY APPROVING SETTLEMENT AND RELEASE AGREEMENT

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14.

The Notice of Class Action Settlement shall be revised as follows prior to

2 mailing:
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a. Sections 8 and 10 shall provide for an incentive award to Plaintiff of up to
$10,000.
b. Section 11 shall provide that the final approval hearing will be in the
Eastern District of California.
c. Section 22 shall provide that the final approval hearing will be before
Judge Morrison C. England.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

10 Dated: November 17, 2016
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Sutton Hague
Law Corporation
6715 N. PALM AVENUE
SUITE 216
FRESNO, CA 93704

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ORDER PRELIMINARILY APPROVING SETTLEMENT AND RELEASE AGREEMENT