Williams v. Amazon.com Services LLC et al

Filing 76

Order by Judge Vince Chhabria granting 71 Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement. (vclc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/23/2024)

ACKERMANN & TILAJEF, P.C.
Craig J. Ackermann (SBN 229832)
[e-mail]
Avi Kreitenberg (SBN 266571)
[e-mail]
Brian Denlinger (admitted pro hac vice)
[e-mail]
315 South Beverly Drive, Suite 610
Beverly Hills, California 90212
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
JOSHUA KLUGMAN, ESQ.
Joshua Klugman (SBN 236905)
[e-mail]
9538 Pico Boulevard, Suite 200
Los Angeles, California 90035
Phone: [phone]
Attorneys for Plaintiff and the Putative Class
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
DAVID GEORGE WILLIAMS an individual,
on behalf of the State of California, as a private
attorney general, and on behalf of all others
similarly situated,

CASE NO.: 3:22-CV-01892-VC
[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING
FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION
SETTLEMENT AS AMENDED

Plaintiff,
v.
AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC, a Delaware
Limited Liability Company; and DOES 1 to 50,

Judge: Honorable Vince Chhabria
Dept.: Courtroom 5
Hearing Date: January 18, 2024
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Action Filed: March 18, 2021
FAC Filed: May 5, 2021
SAC Filed: March 8, 2022
Removal Date: March 24, 2022
TAC Filed: June 21, 2022

Defendants.

-1[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

The Court, having considered the motions of Plaintiff DAVID GEORGE WILLIAMS
(“Plaintiff”) for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement, and for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs,
and good cause appearing, hereby GRANTS final approval of the class action settlement between
Plaintiff and Defendant AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC (“Defendant”) as provided by the
Revised Settlement Agreement and Release of Class Action [Dkt. 68-1] (the “Settlement
Agreement” or “Settlement”) as set forth below:
1.

The Court hereby makes final the conditional class certification contained in the

Second Revised Order Granting Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement [Dkt. 69] (the
“PA Order”), and thus makes final for purposes of the Settlement Agreement the certification,
pursuant to FRCP 23(a) and (b)(3), of a class consisting of: Plaintiff and all other individuals who
are or were employed by Defendant, based at one of Defendant’s nine California office locations
(SJC3, SJC15, SFO10, SFO13, MRY11, SBP10, LAX10, SJC11, and SNA3), who worked remotely
for at least one pay period during the Class Period, who were assigned a registered USB security
key and a Midway Pin by Amazon, and who neither received some amount of home Internet
expense reimbursement for each month of their employment during the Class Period nor testified
that they had been reimbursed at least a reasonable portion of their Internet expenses during the
Class Period. The Class Period shall mean the period from March 15, 2020 through July 1, 2022.
2.

The Court hereby finds that the Class Notice mailed to all Class Members, as

previously ordered by the Court, fairly and adequately described the terms of the proposed
Settlement Agreement; was the best notice practicable under the circumstances; was valid, due
and sufficient notice to all Class Members; and complied fully with FRCP Rule 23(e)(1)(B), due
process, and all other applicable laws. The court further finds that a full and fair opportunity has
been afforded to Class Members to participate in the hearing convened to determine whether the
proposed Settlement Agreement should be given final approval. As only 19 of the 6,892 total Class
Members requested to be excluded from the Settlement, 6,873 Settlement Class members are
bound by this Order and shall be deemed to have released the Released Claims against the Released
Parties as defined in the Settlement Agreement. Not a single Class Member objected to any portion
-2[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

of the Settlement Agreement after dissemination of the Class Notice.
3.

The Court finally appoints Craig J. Ackermann, Brian Denlinger, and Avi

Kreitenberg of Ackermann & Tilajef, P.C., and Joshua Klugman of Joshua Klugman, Esq. as
counsel for the Class, and finds them to be adequate counsel experienced in similar litigation.
4.

The Court finds that the Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and adequate as

to the Class, Plaintiff, and Defendant, and is the product of good faith, arm’s-length negotiations
between the parties, and further, that the Settlement Agreement is consistent with public policy,
1

and fully complies with all applicable provisions of law. The Court also finds that settlement now
will avoid additional and potentially substantial litigation costs, as well as delay and risks if the
Parties were to continue to litigate the case. Additionally, after considering the monetary recovery
provided as part of the Settlement in light of the challenges posed by continued litigation, the Court
concludes that Class Counsel secured significant relief for Class Members. Accordingly, the Court
hereby finally and unconditionally approves the Settlement Agreement pursuant to FRCP 23(e)(1),
and specifically:
a. Finally approves the gross settlement amount of $950,000.00;
b. Finally approves payment of up to $40,000.00 to ILYM Group, Inc., the Settlement
Administrator;
c. Finally approves the Class Representative Incentive award of $20,000 to Plaintiff;
d. Finally approves an award of attorneys’ fees, pursuant to Rule 23(h) in the amount
2

3

of $285,000.00, and costs in the additional amount of $83,499.91 to Plaintiff’s
counsel;
1

The Court finds that all filing requirements of the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”) were
timely satisfied. See 28 U.S.C. § 1715.
2
The Court will withhold 10% of the attorneys’ fee award until after the Post-Distribution
Accounting has been filed. The 10% withholding is appropriate because this case has been heavily
litigated and because Class Counsel is not seeking a lodestar multiplier.
3
The Settlement Agreement contemplates litigation cost reimbursement in the amount of $85,000,
which was already preliminarily approved by this Court and noticed to the Class without objection;
however, Class Counsel is now requesting litigation cost reimbursement in the amount of their
actual litigation costs incurred with the balance to be added to the Net Settlement Amount to be
distributed to participating Class Members.
-3[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

e. Finally approves the allocation of $30,000 as payment for penalties under the
California Labor Code Private Attorney Generals Act (“PAGA”), and further
approves of payment of 75% thereof ($22,500) to the Labor and Workforce
Development Agency for its portion of the PAGA penalties.
5.

The Court orders that, following the Effective Date as defined in the Settlement

Agreement, the Parties and the Settlement Administrator shall carry out the implementation
schedule set forth in the Settlement Agreement.
6.

Within twenty-one days after the distribution of any remaining funds to Class

Members who cashed their Individual Settlement Amount checks (but before distribution to any
cy pres recipients), Plaintiff’s Counsel will file a Post-Distribution Accounting, including, as
relevant, when payments were made to class members, the number of members who were sent
payments, the total amount of money paid to members, the average and median recovery per class
member, the largest and smallest amount paid to class members, the number and value of cashed
and uncashed checks, the number of members who could not be contacted, the number of
objections and opt-outs, the amount to be distributed to each cy pres recipient, any significant or
recurring concerns communicated by members to the settlement administrator and counsel since
final approval, any other issues in settlement administration since final approval, and how any
concerns or issues were resolved. See Cotter v. Lyft, No. 13-cv-04065-VC, Dkt. No. 348 (N.D.
Cal. Apr. 6, 2018); Hunt v. VEP Healthcare, Inc., No. 16-cv-04790-VC, Dkt No. 68 (N.D. Cal.
Apr. 3, 2018).
7.

Defendant shall deposit the Gross Settlement Amount in a lump sum payment to

the Settlement Administrator within 60 days of the Effective Date, by March 18, 2024.
8.

The Settlement Administrator shall distribute to Class Counsel the attorneys fees

and expenses as approved by the Court no later than thirty-five days after the Effective Date, by
February 22, 2024.
9.

The Settlement Administrator shall distribute to Plaintiff the service award

approved by the Court no later than thirty-five days after the Effective Date, by February 22, 2024.
-4[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

10.

The Settlement Administrator shall distribute to the LWDA the portion of the

PAGA Payment due to it and approved by the Court no later than thirty-five days after the Effective
Date, by February 22, 2024
11.

The Settlement Administrator shall make every effort to mail the Individual

Settlement Amount to each participating Class Member, by first-class United States mail, to their
last-known address no later than twenty days after the Effective Date, by February 7, 2024.
12.

Within one hundred twenty days of mailing the Individual Settlement Amounts to

participating Class Members, by June 6, 2024, the Settlement Administrator shall file with the
Court and provide to Class Counsel a declaration of payment.
13.

Any funds associated with checks that have not been cashed within one hundred

twenty days, will become void and the Individual Settlement Amounts associated with the
uncashed checks will be redistributed pro-rata to participating Class Members who cashed their
settlement check.
14.

The Settlement Agreement is not an admission by Defendant, nor is this Order a

finding of the validity of any allegations or of any wrongdoing by Defendant. Neither this Order,
the Settlement Agreement, nor any document referred to herein, nor any action taken to carry out
the Settlement Agreement, may be construed as, or may be used as, an admission of any fault,
wrongdoing, omission, concession, or liability whatsoever by or against Defendant.
15.

Without affecting the finality of this Order, the Court retains exclusive and

continuing jurisdiction over the case for purposes of supervising, implementing, interpreting and
enforcing this Order and the Settlement Agreement, as may become necessary, until all of the
terms of the Settlement Agreement have been fully carried out, after which this action shall be
dismissed with prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

January 23, 2024
Dated: ______________________

_________________________________
THE HONORABLE VINCE CHHABRIA
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
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[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

-6[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT