Flores v. Zale Delaware, Inc.

Filing 70

ORDER by Judge Thelton E. Henderson granting 66 Motion for preliminary approval of class action settlement. (tehlc3, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/12/2009)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ERIC A. GROVER (SBN 136080) JADE BUTMAN (SBN 235920) ELIZABETH A. ACEVEDO (SBN 227347) KELLER GROVER LLP 425 Second Street, Suite 500 San Francisco, California 94107 Telephone: 415-543-1305 Facsimile: 415-543-7861 eagrover@kellergrover.com jbutman@kellergrover.com eacevedo@kellergrover.com RANDALL CRANE (SBN 056806) LAW OFFICE OF RANDALL CRANE 180 Grand Avenue, Suite 1550 Oakland, California 94612 Phone: (510) 464-4606 Facsimile: (510) 465-4643 crane4law@aol.com Attorneys for Plaintiff Jackie Flores, Arbella Yadegar and Van Norma Winterholler UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA JACKIE FLORES, ARBELLA YADEGAR and VAN NORMA WINTERHOLLER, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, ) ) ) ) ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) ) ZALE DELAWARE, INC., and DOES 1 TO ) 10, inclusive, ) ) ) Defendants. ) ) ) Case No. C 07-00539 TEH ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT Hon. Thelton E. Henderson ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS SETTLEMENT Case No. C 07-00539 TEH 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 The motion of Plaintiffs Jackie Flores, Arbella Yadegar, and Van Norma Winterholler ("Plaintiffs") for an order preliminarily approving a class action settlement between Plaintiffs and Defendant Zale Delaware, Inc. ("Defendant") (collectively the "Parties") and setting a final approval hearing was noticed for hearing on January 26, 2009, before this Court. The time for filing an opposition to the motion has passed, and the Court has received no opposition. Defendant filed a statement of non-opposition on January 8, 2009. The Court has carefully considered the Class Action Settlement Agreement and Stipulation ("Stipulation"), Notice of Class Action Settlement ("Class Notice") and the Workweek Computation Form (Exhibits A and B, respectively, to the Stipulation), and the written submissions of counsel, and finds this matter suitable for resolution without oral argument. With good cause appearing, the Court hereby finds and orders as follows: 1. All defined terms contained herein shall have the same meaning as set forth in the Stipulation executed by the Parties and filed with this Court. 2. The Court finds on a preliminary basis that the proposed settlement memorialized in the Stipulation is within the range of reasonableness and hereby grants preliminary approval of the settlement. 3. The Court conditionally finds that, for the purposes of approving this settlement only and for no other purpose, the proposed settlement Class meets the requirements of certification under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: (a) the proposed Class is ascertainable and so numerous that joinder of all members of the Class is impracticable; (b) there are questions of law or fact common to the proposed Class; (c) the claims of the Named Plaintiffs are typical of the claims of the members of the proposed Class; (d) the Named Plaintiffs and their counsel will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the Class; and (e) a class action is superior to the other available methods for an efficient resolution of this controversy. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS SETTLEMENT Case No. C 07-00539 TEH 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4. The Court hereby appoints, for settlement purposes only, Plaintiffs Jackie Flores, Arbella Yadegar, and Van Norma Winterholler as Class Representatives, and the law firms of Keller Grover LLP and the Law Office of Randall Crane as Class Counsel. 5. 6. The Court hereby appoints Rust Consulting as the Settlement Administrator. The Parties have also presented to the Court a plan to provide notice to the proposed Class of the terms of settlement and the options facing the Class, including whether to request exclusion from the settlement or object to the settlement. The Court finds that the notice plan proposed by the Parties in the Stipulation is the best practical notice under the circumstances. The Class Notice and the Workweek Computation Form, attached to the Stipulation as Exhibits A and B respectively, are hereby approved. 7. Not later than twenty (20) days after the Court's entry of this Order, Defendant shall provide the Settlement Administrator with the information necessary to conduct the mailing of the Class Notice and the Workweek Computation Form, as set forth in the Stipulation at ¶ 49. The Settlement Administrator must mail the Class Notice and the Workweek Computation Form to Class Members not later than thirty (30) days after the Court's entry of this Order granting preliminary approval and pursuant to the applicable provisions in the Stipulation. 8. Any written objection to or request for exclusion from the settlement must be postmarked no later than seventy-five (75) days after the date on which the Class Notices are mailed. 9. Because this case is before this Court under the Class Action Fairness Act, Defendant is required to notify "appropriate Federal and State officials" of the settlement. 28 U.S.C. § 1715. The Parties must file proof of such notification with the Court within five (5) court days of the date of this Order. 10. The Court will conduct a Final Approval Hearing on June 22, 2009, at 10:00 AM, to determine the overall fairness of the Settlement and to fix the amount of attorneys' fees and costs to Class Counsel and enhancements to the Class Representatives. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS SETTLEMENT Case No. C 07-00539 TEH 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Plaintiffs shall file their motion for final approval of the settlement, and Class Counsel shall file their motion for attorneys' fees, costs, and Class Representatives' enhancements, at least thirty-five (35) days before the Final Approval Hearing, unless there will be no opposition or reply papers, in which case the motions may be filed up to twenty-one (21) days before the Final Approval Hearing. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: January 12, 2009 ___________________________________ THELTON E. HENDERSON, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Respectfully submitted, Dated: December 19, 2008 KELLER GROVER LLP /s/ ERIC A. GROVER Attorneys for Plaintiffs Flores, Yadegar and Winterholler Dated: December 19, 2008 LAW OFFICE OF RANDALL CRANE /s/ RANDALL CRANE Attornys for Plaintiffs Flores, Yadegar and Winterholler Dated: December 19, 2008 AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP /s/ CATHERINE A. CONWAY Attorneys for Defendant Zale Delaware, Inc. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS SETTLEMENT Case No. C 07-00539 TEH 4

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