Allen et al v. Flight Services and Systems, Inc.

Filing 52

ORDER granting Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement re parties' 50 Stipulated Motion; Final Hearing set for 11/2/2018 at 02:00 PM in Courtroom 15106, signed by Judge Robert S. Lasnik. (SWT)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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ANANAIS ALLEN, an individual, and AUSTIN
CLOY, an individual,

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v.

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FLIGHT SERVICES AND SYSTEMS, INC.,
a foreign corporation,

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ORDER GRANTING
PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF
CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

Defendant.

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Plaintiffs,

Case No. 2:16-cv-1137-RSL

Before the Court is the Parties’ Stipulated Motion for Preliminary Approval of the Class
Action Settlement (the “Stipulated Motion”). Dkt. #50. The Court has considered the Stipulated

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Motion and attachments thereto. This Court has also reviewed the Parties’ Settlement
Agreement (“Agreement”), as well as the files, records and proceedings to date in this matter. 1
Based on this Court’s review of the Agreement and all of the files, records, and

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proceedings herein, the Court concludes, upon preliminary examination, that the Agreement and

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Settlement appear fair, reasonable, and adequate, and within the range of reasonableness for

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preliminary settlement approval, and that a hearing should and will be held after notice to the

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Settlement Class to confirm that the Agreement and Settlement are fair, reasonable and
adequate and to determine whether the Settlement should be approved and final judgment
entered in the Action based upon the Agreement.

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For purposes of this Order, capitalized terms used below shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Stipulated
Motion, unless otherwise defined.

ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL
OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT- 1

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:

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A.

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The Agreement is preliminarily approved as fair, reasonable and adequate and within

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the range of reasonableness for preliminary settlement approval. The Court finds that: (a) the

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Agreement resulted from extensive arm’s length negotiations; and (b) the Agreement is

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Preliminary Approval of Proposed Settlement.

sufficient to warrant notice of the Settlement to persons in the Settlement Class and a full
hearing on the approval of the Settlement.

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B.

Class Certification.

On October 30, 2017, the Court certified the Class pursuant to Rule of Civil Procedure

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23(c). Dkt. #37, pg. 4-5. For purposes of settlement, the Court amends the Class definition as

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follows:

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All employees of Flight Services and Systems (“FSS”) who have been
Transportation Workers, as defined by the Ordinance, and who were employed by
FSS within the City of SeaTac between January 1, 2014 and the present, and who
allege they were paid less than required under the Ordinance, and who are not party
to a parallel legal action against FSS for claims substantially like those in this
lawsuit or who have not otherwise opted out of the Class.
If the settlement is not approved, the previously certified Class definition will remain in effect.
C.

Settlement Hearing.

A final approval hearing (the “Settlement Hearing”) shall be held before the Honorable
Robert Lasnik on November 2, 2018, as set forth in the Notice to the Settlement Class, to
determine whether the Agreement is fair, reasonable and adequate and should be approved.
Papers in support of final approval of the Agreement, the incentive awards to Plaintiff, and
Class Counsel’s application for an award of attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses (the “Fee
Application”) shall be filed with the Court according to the schedule set forth in Paragraph M
below. If the Settlement Hearing is postponed, adjourned, or continued by order of the Court,
the Parties shall notify the Settlement Class by posting the change on the Settlement Website.

ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL
OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT- 2

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After the Settlement Hearing, the Court may enter a settlement order and final judgment in

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accordance with the Agreement that will adjudicate the rights of the Settlement Class Members

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with respect to the Released Claims being settled. The scope of the Released Claims shall be a

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full and complete release of any and all claims, known or unknown, asserted or unasserted,

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arising under any provisions of Proposition 1 and Chapter 7.45 et seq. of the City of SeaTac

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Municipal Code, the Washington Minimum Wage Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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D.

Class Notice.

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Class Notice shall be sent within twenty-one (21) days following entry of this Order.

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E.

Notice.

The Claims Administrators will provide mail notice to persons in the Settlement Class

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for whom the Defendant possesses a mailing address. Notice will be sent via US Postal Service

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and e-mail to the most recent mailing addresses, if any, reflected in reasonably available

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employment records of the Defendant. Skip tracing shall be performed by the Claims

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Administrator for all returned mail.
F.

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The Court finds that the foregoing program of Class Notice and the manner of its

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Findings Concerning Class Notice.

dissemination is the best practicable notice under the circumstances and is reasonably
calculated to apprise the Settlement Class of the pendency of this Action and their right to
object to or exclude themselves from the Settlement Class. The Court further finds that the
Class Notice program is reasonable, that it constitutes due, adequate and sufficient notice to all
persons entitled to receive notice and that it meets the requirements of due process and CR 23.
With changes as necessary to conform to this Order, the Court hereby approves the Notice in
substantially the same form as that attached to the Declaration of Duncan C. Turner. Dkt. #512.
G.

Administration.

The Claim Form and the claims submission process described in the Agreement and
Stipulated Motion, as amended herein, are hereby approved. In addition, the Court confirms

ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL
OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT- 3

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that it is appropriate for the Defendant to provide the information necessary to provide the

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notice contemplated herein and to administer the settlement, including names, addresses and

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account information.

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H.

Exclusion from the Settlement Class.

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Persons in the Settlement Class will possess the right to opt out by sending a written

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request to a designated address on or before September 24, 2018. All Settlement Class

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Members who do not opt out in accordance with the terms set forth herein will be bound by all

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determinations and judgments in the Action. Exclusion requests must be signed and include the

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following statement: “I/we request to be excluded from the class settlement in Allen v. Flight

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Services and Systems, Inc., Case No. 2:16-cv-1137-RSL.” The Claims Administrators will

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retain a copy of all requests for exclusion. Not later than 15 days from the exclusion/objection

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deadline, the Claims Administrators shall file with the Court all objections received.

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I.

Objections and Appearances.

Any person in the Settlement Class who has not timely submitted a valid request for
exclusion from the Settlement Class, and thus is a Settlement Class Member, may appear at the
Final Approval Hearing to argue that the proposed Settlement should not be approved and/or to
oppose the application of Class Counsel for an award of attorneys’ fees and the incentive
awards to the named Plaintiff. In order to be heard at the hearing, the person must make any
objection in writing and mail it to the designated address not later than September 24, 2018.
Any objections that are not timely filed and mailed may be forever barred.
J.

Further Papers In Support Of Settlement.

Class counsel shall file their fee request on or before the initial notice mailing date.
The deadline to respond to objections shall be fifteen (15) days following the Exclusion/
Objection deadline.

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ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL
OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT- 4

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K.

Effect of Failure to Approve the Agreement.

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In the event the Agreement is not approved by the Court, or for any reason the Parties

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fail to obtain a Final Judgment as contemplated in the Agreement, or the Agreement is

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terminated pursuant to its terms for any reason, then the following shall apply:
1. All orders and findings entered in connection with the Agreement shall

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become null and void and have no further force and effect, shall not be used

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or referred to for any purposes whatsoever, and shall not be admissible or

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discoverable in any other proceeding;

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2. The conditional certification of the Settlement Class pursuant to this Order

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shall be vacated automatically and void; no doctrine of waiver, estoppel or

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preclusion shall be asserted in any litigated certification proceedings in the

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Action; and the Agreement and its existence shall be inadmissible to establish

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any fact relevant to class certification or any alleged liability of the Defendant
for the matters alleged in the Action or for any other purpose;

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3. Nothing contained in this Order is, or may be construed as, any admission or

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concession by or against the Defendant or Plaintiff on any point of fact or

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law.

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L.

Stay/Bar Of Other Proceedings.

All proceedings in this Action are stayed until further order of the Court, except as
may be necessary to implement the terms of the settlement. Pending final determination of
whether the settlement should be approved, Plaintiff, all persons in the Settlement Class and
persons purporting to act on their behalf are enjoined from commencing or prosecuting
(either directly, representatively or in any other capacity) against any of the Released Parties
any action, arbitration or proceeding in any court, arbitration forum or tribunal asserting any
of the Released Claims.

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ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL
OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT- 5

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ACTION

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Preliminary Approval Order Entered

July 10, 2018

Initial Notice Mailing Date

July 31, 2018 (within 21 days of entry of the
Preliminary Approval Order)

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July 31, 2018
Class Counsel’s Fee Motion Submitted

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DATE

Notice Deadline
Exclusion/Objection Deadline

August 24, 2018 (within 45 days of entry of
the Preliminary Approval Order)
September 24, 2018

Final Approval Motion and Response to
October 10, 2018
Objections
Final Approval Hearing / Noting Date

November 2, 2018

Final Approval Order Entered

At the Court’s discretion.

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M.

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The Final Hearing, is scheduled on November 2, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. in Courtroom 15106

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Timeline.

at the United States Courthouse, 700 Stewart Street, Seattle, WA 98101.

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Dated this 9th day of July, 2018.

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Robert S. Lasnik
U.S. District Court Judge

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ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL
OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT- 6