Stannard v. Southern California Edison Company et al

Filing 74

ORDER For Preliminary Approval of Collective Action Settlement re (Doc. 71 ). A Final Fairness Hearing shall be held on October 28, 2010 at 10:00 a.m., in Courtroom 7 before Judge Thomas J. Whelan. Signed by Judge Thomas J. Whelan on 7/12/2010. (srm)

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-NLS Stannard v. Southern California Edison Company et al Doc. 74 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 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA FRANK STANNARD, on behalf of himself ) and all others similarly situated, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) vs. ) ) S O U T H E R N CALIFORNIA EDISON ) COMPANY, a California corporation; and ) ) DOES 1 through 100, inclusive, ) ) Defendants. ) ) Case No. 07-CV-589 W (NLS) ORDER FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF COLLECTIVE ACTION SETTLEMENT WHEREAS, the Lead Plaintiff Frank Stannard, individually and on behalf of the Collective Action Settlement Members he represents (the "Class"), have made a motion for an order preliminarily approving the settlement of the claims alleged against Defendant Southern California Edison Company ("Edison") in this litigation in accordance with the Joint Stipulation for Collective Action Settlement, Release and Dismissal (the "Joint Stipulation"), which, together with the annexed Exhibits, sets forth the terms and conditions for a proposed settlement of the claims alleged against Edison in this litigation and for dismissal of the litigation against Edison with prejudice upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Joint Stipulation; and the Court having read and considered the Joint Stipulation and all of the papers and admissible evidence filed in support of the motion and for good cause appearing; NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 1 Case No. 07-CV-589 W (NLS) Dockets.Justia.com 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 1. The Court does hereby find that the proposed settlement as described in the Joint Stipulation appears to be fair, proper, falls within the range of reasonableness, and appears to be presumptively valid subject only to any objections that may be raised at the Final Fairness Hearing and hereby preliminarily approves the proposed settlement as set forth in the Joint Stipulation subject to further consideration at the Final Fairness Hearing described below. Subject to final approval, the Court hereby accepts and adopts the Joint Stipulation as an Order of the Court. 2. A hearing (the "Final Fairness Hearing") shall be held before this Court on Thursday, October 28, 2010 at 10:00 a.m., in Courtroom 7, of the District Court for the Southern District of California, located 940 Front Street, San Diego, California 92101, to determine whether the proposed settlement of the litigation on the terms and conditions provided for in the Joint Stipulation is fair, just, reasonable and adequate to the Class and should be approved by the Court; whether judgment as provided for in the Joint Stipulation should be entered; and to determine the amount of fees and expenses that should be awarded to Class Counsel. The Court may reschedule the Final Fairness Hearing to another date without further notice to Members of the Class. 3. The Court approves, as to form and content, the Notice of Settlement and Verification Form, annexed to the Joint Stipulation as Exhibit B and finds that the mailing of these forms substantially in the manner and form set forth in this Order meets the requirements of FRCP Rule 23, and due process, and is the best notice practicable under the circumstances and shall constitute due and sufficient notice to all persons entitled to notice. 4. Claims Administrator Gilardi & Co., LLC (the "Claims Administrator") is hereby authorized to supervise and administer the notice procedure as more fully set forth below: (a) Not later than August 9, 2010 (the "Notice Date"), the Claims Administrator shall cause a copy of the Notice of Settlement and Verification Form, in substantially similar form as annexed to the Joint Stipulation as Exhibit B to be sent by United States mail to all Class Members. (b) Not later than ten days after the Notice Date or August 19, 2010, the Claims Administrator shall deliver to Class Counsel and Defendant's Counsel to be filed with the Court proof, by affidavit or declaration, of such mailing. 5. Class Members shall comply with the procedures set forth in the Notice of 2 Case No. 07-CV-589 W (NLS) 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 Settlement. All Verification Forms must be postmarked no later than thirty calendar days within the Notice Date or September 8, 2010. Failure to sign and return the Verification Form within this time period will result in a finding by the Claims Administrator that all information contained in the preprinted Verification Form is accurate, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. 6. Any Class Member who wishes to object to the Joint Stipulation must file a written objection with the Court, with copies served and postmarked to the Claims Administrator, Plaintiffs' Counsel, and Edison's Counsel, not later than thirty (30) calendar days following service of the Notice or September 8, 2010. Any objection must set forth, in clear and concise terms, any legal and factual arguments supporting the objection, and must be filed under seal pursuant to this Court's July 8, 2010 Order granting Defendant Southern California Edison Company's Unopposed Ex Parte Motion to File Settlement Documents Under Seal ("Motion to Seal")1. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, Class Members shall not be entitled to participate at the Final Fairness Hearing unless they have submitted a timely written objection. 7. All papers in support of the final approval of the settlement and Class counsels' fee, expense and Lead Plaintiff's incentive award application shall be filed with the Court and served on or before October 8, 2010. Any information/exhibits contained in such papers that were the subject of Edison's Motion to Seal shall be redacted and/or filed under seal pursuant to this Court's July 8, 2010 Order on Edison's Motion to Seal. IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: July 12, 2010 Hon. Thomas J. Whelan United States District Judge 1 The Court may, in its discretion, thereafter order any objections to be unsealed. 3 Case No. 07-CV-589 W (NLS)

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