Lopez v. Bank of America, N.A.

Filing 62

ORDER GRANTING STIPULATION; APPROVING PROPOSED ADDITIONAL POSTCARD; AND SETTING FURTHER SCHEDULE re 50 STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER re 48 Order on Motion for Settlement filed by Rene Pompa, Albert Lopez. Signed by Judge Jon S. Tigar on May 6, 2015. (wsn, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/6/2015)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ALBERT LOPEZ, et al.,

Case No. 10-cv-01207-JST

Plaintiffs,
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v.
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BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,
Defendant.

Re: ECF Nos. 49, 50, 61

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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ORDER GRANTING STIPULATION;
APPROVING PROPOSED
ADDITIONAL POSTCARD; AND
SETTING FURTHER SCHEDULE

On March 3, 2015, Plaintiffs moved for final approval of their class action settlement with

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Defendant. ECF No. 49. Plaintiffs also filed a stipulation asking the Court to approve an

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additional postcard notice to class members who signed severance agreements with Bank of

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America between September 4, 2014 and the close of the claims period. ECF No. 50. The

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postcard would inform those class members that, despite their severance agreements, they are

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entitled to participate as class members in the proposed settlement of this case. Id.

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As stated at the April 23, 2015 settlement fairness hearing, the Court advised the parties

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that postcard notices the settlement administrator sent to class members did not include three

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specific items of information the Court had previously ordered the notices to include in its

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preliminary approval order, ECF No. 48. The parties agreed to remedy this error by sending an

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additional postcard notice to class members, containing the Court-ordered revisions, and to extend

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the claims period by thirty days.

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At the fairness hearing, the Court also ordered Plaintiffs’ counsel to provide further

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information in support of Plaintiffs’ counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees. Specifically, the Court

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requested information regarding the number of hours worked by each attorney on the case, the

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general categories of work performed by those attorneys, and the specific tasks those attorneys

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performed within each category. The Court also ordered Plaintiffs’ counsel to submit billing

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records or other similar source documentation supporting the claimed fees. Finally, the Court

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expressed concern as to the hourly rates Plaintiffs’ attorney Hart charged to the class for work

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performed by contract attorneys, which ranged from $350 to $400 per hour.

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On April 30, 2015, the parties filed a status report addressing the Court’s concerns. See

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ECF No. 61. In the report, the parties proposed a revised schedule and new final fairness hearing

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date premised on the sending of additional postcard notice and the extended claims period. ECF

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No. 61. The parties also submitted a proposed additional postcard notice containing the revisions

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discussed at the hearing, and explained that the settlement administrator would bear the full cost of

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the additional notice. Id. at 2 & Ex. A. Finally, Plaintiffs’ counsel asked for clarification
regarding the additional information the Court would need to approve Plaintiffs’ request for

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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attorneys’ fees. Id. at 1.

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In light of the foregoing, the Court hereby orders as follows:

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1.

The stipulation at ECF No. 50, which pertains to additional notice for class

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members who signed severance agreements between September 4, 2014 and the end of the claims

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period, is granted;

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2.

The revised version of the reminder postcard, ECF No. 61, Ex. A, is approved;

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3.

The updated implementation schedule, with modifications as shown below, is

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approved;

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Timing of

Estimated

Activity

Deadline

Activity
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Parties submit revised Reminder Postcard to Court for approval

By Court Order

04/30/15

Court approves revised Reminder Postcard

15 days after
submission

05/15/15

Deadline for Claims Administrator to mail Reminder Postcard
to class members who did not submit a claim, request for
exclusion, or objection

15 days after
Court approval

05/30/15

Last date for Plaintiffs to file renewed motion for attorneys’
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At least 14 days

6/15/15

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Timing of

Estimated

Activity
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Activity
fees (see Procedural Guidance for Class Action Settlements,
before the
available at
deadline for
http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/ClassActionSettlementGuidance) objecting to the
settlement

Deadline

Deadline for class members to submit claim, request for
exclusion, or objection

Within 30 days
after Reminder
Postcard mailed

06/29/15

Report from Claims Administrator to Counsel for the Parties
indicating proposed benefits to be paid, incomplete claims, and
the deadline for submission of correct Claims Forms.

Within 30 days
after close of
Claims Period

07/29/15

Defendants’ last day to revoke settlement based on number of
requests for exclusion (see Settlement Agreement § 3.16)

10 days after
Claims
Administrator
notifies the
Parties as to the
total number of
requests for
exclusion

08/07/15

Parties to submit report to Court regarding final results of
claims

Within 15 days
after receipt of
report from
Claims
Administrator

08/13/15

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Final fairness hearing

08/27/15

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Court enters final order and judgment

08/27/15

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Effective Date of Settlement – assuming no appeals (see
Settlement Agreement § 1.11)

31 days after
final approval of
settlement

09/28/15

Defendants wire settlement pay-out funds to Claims
Administrator (see Settlement Agreement § 3.25(c))

15 court days
after Effective
Date

10/15/15

Claims Administrator issues the following payments: (1)
settlement class awards; (2) service payments to the Settlement
Class Representatives; (3) Settlement Class Counsel’s
attorneys’ fees and costs to Settlement Class Counsel; (4) costs

30 days after
Effective Date

10/28/15

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Timing of

Estimated

Activity

Deadline

Eight months
after the first
mailing date of
the Settlement
Class Awards by
the Claims
Administrator to
qualified
participating
claimants

06/28/16

Activity
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of administration to the Claims Administrator; (5) PAGA
penalties to the Labor &Workforce Development Agency (see
Settlement Agreement § 3.25(c))
Defendants file Claims Administrator’s written certification of
completion of settlement administration (see Settlement
Agreement § 3.25(c))

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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4.

Plaintiffs’ counsel shall submit, in support of the motion for attorneys’ fees, “charts

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that break down, by individual attorney for whom fees are claimed, the attorney’s work on this

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case by general category, and by specific categories of tasks performed within that category,

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and . . . the total number of hours worked in each category.” See Dyer v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.,

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303 F.R.D. 326, 333 (N.D. Cal. 2014). Plaintiffs’ counsel shall also lodge with the Clerk of the

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Court complete hourly billing records or similar source documentation supporting the fee request.

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See Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 437 (1983) (“[T]he fee applicant [must] document[] the

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appropriate hours expended and hourly rates.”).

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5.

Plaintiffs’ counsel shall submit the same type of documentation in support of the

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request for reimbursement for work performed by contract attorneys. Plaintiffs’ counsel may only

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request a reasonable hourly rate for the work that contract attorneys performed. See In re

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Citigroup Inc. Sec. Litig., 965 F. Supp. 2d 369, 393-99 (S.D.N.Y. 2013). The requested rate

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should be tailored to the particular geographic region in which the contract attorneys worked and

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the tasks that they performed. Id. Plaintiffs’ counsel shall also lodge with the Clerk of the Court

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records showing the actual hourly rate paid to the contract attorneys for whom fees are claimed.

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6.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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The final approval hearing is set for August 27, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.

Dated: May 6, 2015

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______________________________________
JON S. TIGAR
United States District Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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