Kroshus et al v. United States of America, et al

Filing 263

ORDER APPROVING DISBURSEMENT OF SETTLEMENT re 262 Proposed Order Submission filed by Plaintiffs. Signed by Magistrate Judge Robert A. McQuaid, Jr. on 8/1/2011. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - HJ)

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Case 3:09-cv-00713-LDG -RAM Document 262 Filed 08/01/11 Page 1 of 3 1 2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 3 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 4 5 JUDY KROSHUS, et al., 6 7 Plaintiffs, v. 8 9 HAGER & HEARNE 245 E. Liberty St., Ste 110 Reno, NV 89501 (775) 329-5800, FAX (775) 329-5819 10 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendant. 11 12 13 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) CASE NO.: 3:08-cv-00246-LDG-RAM CASE NO.: 3:09-cv-00713-LDG-RAM ORDER ORDER APPROVING DISBURSEMENT OF SETTLEMENT 14 15 WHEREAS, on June 15, 2011 and July 8, 2011, Counsel for Plaintiffs deposited in 16 the U.S. Mail notice of the proposed settlements to all members of the class herein and 17 caused the aforementioned notice to be published in the Fernley Leader and Reno 18 Gazette-Journal for three (3) successive weeks; 19 WHEREAS, said notice set out the terms of the proposed settlement and 20 procedure for distribution of settlement funds and noticed the time and place for class 21 members to appear and object to and comment on said settlement in Court on the 29 th 22 23 day of July, 2011 at 10 a.m.; 24 WHEREAS, on July 29, 2011, at 10 a.m., the Court considered Plaintiffs’ Motion 25 for Approval of Settlement of Class Action Pursuant to FRCP 23(e) and Distribution of 26 Funds and the Court inquired as to whether or not there were any other comments 27 and/or objections by people and parties present or who had written to the Court or 28 Parties, and Attorneys and Representatives; 1 Case 3:09-cv-00713-LDG -RAM Document 262 Filed 08/01/11 Page 2 of 3 1 NOW, THEREFORE, the Court being fully advised, makes the following Findings: 2 1) That legal and sufficient notice has been duly and regularly given to the 3 members of the Class so as to give the members an opportunity to appear and be heard 4 regarding the proposed settlement and distribution. 5 2) That the class settlement with the Board of Directors of Truckee-Carson 6 Irrigation District, City of Fernley, and Lyon County in the amount of $10,150,500.00, is 7 fair, just, and equitable in light of the basis upon which the Court approved the class in 8 this matter and should be approved. 9 3) That the distribution formula set forth in the notice, which is based upon HAGER & HEARNE 245 E. Liberty St., Ste 110 Reno, NV 89501 (775) 329-5800, FAX (775) 329-5819 10 an engineer’s analysis of the level of water on and/or in each subject property, is fair, 11 just, and equitable and in accord with the basis upon which the Court approved the Class 12 and should be approved by the Court. Specifically, after deducting for attorneys’ fees and 13 costs, settlement proceeds will be distributed to members of the Class according to the 14 following formula: 15 16 Level 1- No water on Property (generally not eligible to receive settlement funds); 17 Level 2- Water on property but no water in garage/crawlspace; 18 Level 3- Water in garage and/or crawl space; and 19 Level 4- Water in living space. 20 Any claim of level of water intrusion inconsistent with the engineer’s analysis will be 21 submitted to the Court for determination. 22 Additionally, the named Class Representatives in this action will share in the 23 allocation of the settlement proceeds described above, except that, in addition, the 24 named Class Representatives will each receive $1,000.00 payable from the settlement 25 proceeds as compensation for serving as representatives of the class. 26 27 4) That in light of the complexity of the case, the very substantial time spent by the attorneys, and very substantial costs necessarily incurred in connection with the 28 2 Case 3:09-cv-00713-LDG -RAM Document 262 Filed 08/01/11 Page 3 of 3 1 prosecution of this matter, the Court finds that Plaintiffs’ request for attorneys’ fees in 2 the amount of $3,383,333.33, which equals thirty-three and one third (33 1/3) percent of 3 the class settlement, and costs in the amount of $765,501.80, is reasonable and in accord 4 with those customarily awarded by Courts in such matters and should be approved by 5 the court. 6 NOW, THEREFORE it is hereby ORDERED that: 7 1) That legal and sufficient notice has been duly and regularly given to the 8 members of the Class so as to give the members an opportunity to appear and be heard 9 regarding the proposed settlement and distribution. HAGER & HEARNE 245 E. Liberty St., Ste 110 Reno, NV 89501 (775) 329-5800, FAX (775) 329-5819 10 11 12 13 14 2) That the class settlement in the amount of $10,150,500.00 is fair, just, and equitable and is therefore APPROVED. 3) That Plaintiffs’ request for attorneys’ fees in the amount of $3,383,333.33 and costs in the amount of $765,501.80 is reasonable, and is therefore APPROVED. 4) That the method for distributing settlement funds is fair, just, and 15 equitable, and is therefore APPROVED. After deducting attorneys’ fees and costs, 16 Plaintiffs’ counsel is authorized to distribute $6, 001, 164.87 to Class Members in 17 accordance with the procedures approved herein 18 IT IS SO ORDERED 19 20 1st DATED this ______ day of August 2011, 21 22 23 _____________________________ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 24 25 26 27 28 3

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