R.H. v. Premera Blue Cross et al

Filing 90

ORDER granting 81 Motion for final approval of settlement agreement; approving disbursements pursuant to settlement agreement; approving opt-outs; authorizing payment of late claims; Cy Pres Hearing set for 7/10/2015 at 09:00 AM by Judge Richard A Jones.(RS) cc fin'l

HON. RICHARD A. JONES

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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R.H., by and through his parents and
guardians, P.H. and N.B.-H., individually, on
behalf of WASHINGTON ALLIANCE FOR
HEALTHCARE INSURANCE TRUST
HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN, and on behalf of
similarly situated individuals and plans,
Plaintiff,

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v.
PREMERA BLUE CROSS, LIFEWISE
HEALTH PLAN OF WASHINGTON
Defendants.

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NO. 2:13-cv-00097-RAJ
[REVISED PROPOSED] ORDER:
(1) GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL
OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT;
(2) APPROVING DISBURSEMENTS
PURSUANT TO SETTLEMENT
AGREEMENT;
(3) APPROVING OPT-OUTS;
(4) AUTHORIZING THE PAYMENT
OF LATE CLAIMS; AND
(5) SCHEDULING A CY PRES
HEARING

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ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL
OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT, ETC.
[Case No. 2:13-cv-00097-RAJ]

SIRIANNI YOUTZ
SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER

999 THIRD AVENUE, SUITE 3650
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104
TEL. [phone] FAX [phone]

Upon consideration of the Plaintiff’s Motions for Final Approval, Attorney Fees,

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Costs and Inventive Awards, it is hereby ORDERED as follows:
(1)

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With respect to the two classes involved in this action, the R.H. NDT

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Settlement Class and the R.H. ABA Settlement Class (collectively “R.H. Classes”), the

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Court approves the Settlement Agreement attached as Appendix 1 to the Motion for

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Preliminary Approval as fair, reasonable and adequate to the class pursuant to FRCP

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23.
(2)

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The Court finds that the settlement notice to the R.H. Classes met the

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requirements of Federal Civil Rule of Civil Procedure 23, due process and the

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applicable law in that it fairly and adequately described the terms of the Agreement,

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gave notice of the time and place of the hearing for final approval of the Agreement,

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and described how a class member may comment on, opt out of, object to, or support

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the Agreement. The Court finds that the direct mail notice process provided to the

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R.H. Classes was the best notice practicable under the circumstances, and met the

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requirements of FRCP 23 and due process.
(3)

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Upon the occurrence of the conditions set forth in Section 2 of the

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Settlement Agreement, the Court authorizes the payment of claims administration

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costs/fees and notice costs (related to the two classes involved in this matter only) from

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the Settlement Trust Fund to class counsel. Class counsel is also authorized to pay

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additional administration and arbitration costs out of the Settlement Trust Fund as they

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become due, as necessary. Class counsel shall document and submit those additional

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invoices and payments in connection with cy pres hearing scheduled in paragraph 10,

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below.

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(4)

Upon the occurrence of the conditions set forth in Section 2 of the

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Settlement Agreement, the Court authorizes the payment of $153,603.73 to the parents

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of the named plaintiff in this action, R.H., to reimburse them for their out-of-pocket
ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL
OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT, ETC. – 1
[Case No. 2:13-cv-00097-RAJ]

SIRIANNI YOUTZ
SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER

999 THIRD AVENUE, SUITE 3650
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104
TEL. [phone] FAX [phone]

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ABA costs as provided in Section 9 of the Settlement Agreement. Class counsel is

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authorized to disburse these funds from the Settlement Trust Fund.

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(5)

With respect to the work performed on behalf of the R.H Classes, the

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Court awards class counsel a fee of 35% of the common cash fund allocated to this

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action. No class member has objected to this amount, which is significant evidence that

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the class members find the request to be fair. As the combined population of the R.H.

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NDT Class and R.H. ABA Class is roughly equal to the combined size of the A.G. NDT

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Class and the J.P. ABA Class, half of the common fund is fairly allocated to this action,

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as the parties have done in the Settlement Agreement at Section 8.4.6.1. See also Dkt.

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No. 69-1, Exh. A, p. 5 and Exh. B, p. 5 (population data for ERISA and non-ERISA class

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members is roughly equal). As a result, for class counsel’s work in just this case before

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this Court, it is awarded $612,500. This amount is fair and reasonable given that class

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counsel obtained broad prospective relief and future benefits for both the R.H. Classes,

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which far exceeds the value of just the cash fund. Dkt. No. 74, ¶¶9-10 (Decl. of Frank

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Fox, Ph.D.); Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp., 142 F. Supp. 2d 1299, 1305 (W.D. Wa. 2001)

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(benchmark fee looks at the total recovery obtained, “including future benefits.”). This

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award also results in a multiplier of 3.3, which is well within an acceptable range. See

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Vizcaino v. Microsoft, 290 F.3d 1043, 1051 (9th Cir. 2002) (multiplier of 3.65 “was within

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the range of multipliers applied in common fund cases”). Upon the occurrence of the

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conditions set forth in Section 2 of the Settlement Agreement, the Court awards these

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attorney fees to class counsel for its efforts in this action, and authorizes the

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disbursement of these funds from the Settlement Trust Fund to class counsel.

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(6)

Upon the occurrence of the conditions set forth in Section 2 of the

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Settlement Agreement, the Court awards litigation costs to class counsel in the amount

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of $8,355.18, reflecting litigation costs to date in just this action. The Court authorizes

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the disbursement of these funds from the Settlement Trust Fund.
ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL
OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT, ETC. – 2
[Case No. 2:13-cv-00097-RAJ]

SIRIANNI YOUTZ
SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER

999 THIRD AVENUE, SUITE 3650
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104
TEL. [phone] FAX [phone]

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(7)

Upon the occurrence of the conditions set forth in Section 2 of the

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Settlement Agreement, R.H., through his parents P.H. and N.B.-H., is awarded an

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incentive award in the sum of $25,000. The Court authorizes the disbursement of these

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funds from the Settlement Trust Fund.

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(8)

Upon the occurrence of the conditions set forth in Section 2 of the

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Settlement Agreement, the Court authorizes the payment of approved class member

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claims in this action. The Court also authorizes the payment of the two late claims

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identified by class counsel which were received prior to December 21, 2014, provided

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they are otherwise approved by the claims administrator for payment. The Court

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authorizes the disbursement of these funds from the Settlement Trust Fund
(9)

Individuals otherwise in the R.H. Classes who submitted opt-out forms,

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attached at Exhibit B to Declaration of Eleanor Hamburger in Support of Plaintiff’s

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Unopposed Motion for Final Approval of Settlement Agreement (Dkt. No. 82), are

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excluded from the R.H. Classes, and are not subject to any provision of the Settlement

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Agreement.

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(10)

A hearing to consider the distribution of cy pres funds is scheduled for

July 10, 2015 at 9:00 a.m.
It is so ORDERED this 21st day of January, 2015.

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A

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The Honorable Richard A. Jones
United States District Judge

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ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL
OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT, ETC. – 3
[Case No. 2:13-cv-00097-RAJ]

SIRIANNI YOUTZ
SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER

999 THIRD AVENUE, SUITE 3650
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104
TEL. [phone] FAX [phone]