Situ et al v. Leavitt

Filing 113

ORDER GRANTING Final Approval of Settlement Agreement. Signed by Judge Thelton E. Henderson on 10/21/08. (rbe, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/22/2008)

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KEVIN PRINDIVILLE Bar No. 235835 ANNA RICH Bar No. 230195 National Senior Citizens Law Center 1330 Broadway, Suite 525 Oakland, CA 94612 Tel.: [phone]; Fax: [phone] PATRICIA NEMORE VICKI GOTTLICH Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc. 1025 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 709 Washington, DC 20036 Tel.: [phone]; Fax: [phone] GILL DEFORD WEY-WEY KWOK Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc. P.O. Box 350 Willimantic, CT 06226 Tel.: [phone]; Fax: [phone] Attorneys for Plaintiffs Additional Counsel listed on following page

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

) XIUFANG SITU, JOSEPHINE GUIN, ) WILLARD ELLIS, KAZIMIERA ) SOKOLOWSKI, ROSA BEGUN, IRENE ) CRAM, JO ANN BURBES, VINCENT PERILLO, ED RANDOLPH, CALIFORNIA ) ALLIANCE FOR RETIRED AMERICANS and) ACTION ALLIANCE OF SENIOR CITIZENS, ) on behalf of themselves and all others similarly ) ) situated, ) Plaintiffs, ) v. ) ) MICHAEL O. LEAVITT, ) Secretary of Health and Human Services, ) Defendant.

CIVIL ACTION NO.: C06-02841

TEH

ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND DIRECTING ENTRY OF FINAL JUDGMENT [Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 23(e)]

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DAVID J. BERGER, State Bar No. 147645 JARED L. KOPEL, State Bar No. 126817 LISA A. DAVIS, State Bar No. 179854 WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI Professional Corporation 650 Page Mill Road Palo Alto, CA 94304-1050 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone]

Situ v. Leavitt, No. C. 06-02841 TEH, Order Granting Final Approval of Settlement Agreement and Directing Entry of Final Judgment ii

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The Court has carefully considered the parties' proposed Settlement Agreement ("Agreement"), filed as Exhibit A to the parties' June 19, 2008 joint Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Settlement, as well as the supporting papers. A final fairness hearing was held on October 6, 2008. The Court finds that the Agreement is fair, adequate, and reasonable. It provides meaningful injunctive relief to the Class, including significant and comprehensive changes to the way that low-income Medicare beneficiaries receive the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit. The Agreement follows a lengthy period of litigation, discovery and negotiation. It is the result of arm's-length negotiations between the parties, supervised by Magistrate Judge Edward M. Chen. Notice has been given to the Class in the manner directed by the Court, and there have been no objections to the Agreement. Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 1. 2. Final approval of the Settlement Agreement is granted. The Court directs entry of Final Judgment, dismissing this action with prejudice,

pursuant to the terms of the Agreement and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(ii). The Final Judgment shall incorporate and be subject to the terms of the Settlement Agreement, as set forth in Agreement § V. The Clerk shall enter judgment and close the file. 3. The Court awards attorneys' fees as the parties have jointly recommended in

Agreement § XV.1. 4. The Court will retain jurisdiction over this matter for the limited purposes and

time period set forth in Agreement § VI.3.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: 10/21/08

_________________________________ THELTON E. HENDERSON, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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