Christensen et al v. Hillyard, Inc.

Filing 35

ORDER RE: FURTHER BRIEFING. Signed by Judge Nathanael Cousins on 12/5/2014. (lmh, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/5/2014)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

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LAWRENCE DANIEL CHRISTENSEN and

Case No. 13-cv-04389 NC

and all others similarly-situated,

ORDER RE: FURTHER
BRIEFING

13 GEORGE CURREA, on behalf of themselves
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Plaintiffs,

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v.
HILLYARD, INC.,
Defendants.

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Before the Court is plaintiffs’ motion for final approval of class action settlement as

21 well as plaintiffs’ motion for award of class representative payments and attorneys’ fees.
22 The proposed order does not address who the cy pres beneficiary would be in the event that
23 class members fail to cash or deposit their award.
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The Court’s website contains a resource for class action settlements located under the

25 Forms & Guidelines section entitled, “Procedural Guidance for Class Action Settlements.”
26 According to item 8 of these guidelines:
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Case No. 13-cv-04389 NC
ORDER RE: FURTHER BRIEFING

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The parties should address their chosen cy pres awardees, if any, and how those
awardees are related to the subject matter of the lawsuit and the class members,
including their location. See, e.g., Dennis v. Kellogg Co., 697 F.3d 858 (9th Cir.
2012); Nachsin v. AOL, LLC, 663 F.3d 1064 (9th Cir. 2011). In general, unused
funds allocated to attorneys’ fees, incentive awards, settlement administration fees
and payments to class members should be distributed to the class pro rata or awarded
to a cy pres recipient.

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6 See http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/ClassActionSettlementGuidance.
The settlement agreement in this case includes a cy pres provision entitled,

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8 “Uncashed Settlement Payment Checks.” Dkt. No. 29-3 at 17. The provision states in part:
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If any checks remain uncashed or not deposited by the expiration of the 30-day. [sic]
After mailing of the Reminder Notice, the Settlement Administrator will pay the
funds represented by such un-redeemed checks and any sums arising due to a reversal
of employee taxes, to Volunteers of America, the Southwest Chapter
(www.voa-swcal.org) a non-profit organization working to improve the quality of life
by providing services and support to families, children and veterans, nationally and in
California.

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It is not clear from the face of this provision that the cy pres beneficiary meets the

16 standard under Dennis. See Dennis, 697 F.3d at 865 (finding that there must be a “driving
17 nexus between the plaintiff class and the cy pres beneficiaries”) (citation omitted).
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Therefore, the Court orders the plaintiffs to submit supplemental briefing within

19 seven days explaining how the cy pres awardee meets the requirements set forth in Dennis.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Date: December 5, 2014

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_________________________
Nathanael M. Cousins
United States Magistrate Judge

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Case No. 13-cv-04389 NC
ORDER RE: FURTHER BRIEFING

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