Ampe et al v. Puyallup City of

Filing 139

ORDER granting 137 Motion Approving Settlement and Award of Attorneys' Fees and Costs, signed by Judge Ronald B. Leighton.(DN)

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 v. CITY OF PUYALLUP, a municipality, Defendant.

HONORABLE RONALD B. LEIGHTON

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA MICHAEL AMPE and JEFFREY POWER, individually and as class representatives, Plaintiffs, No. 07-5500RBL ORDER APPROVING SETTLEMENT AND AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS

The Plaintiff's' Unopposed Motion for Approval of Collective Action Settlement and Award of Attorneys' Fees and Costs (the "Motion") has come before this Court. The Court determines and orders as follows: 1. Counsel have advised the Court that the parties have agreed, subject to final

approval by this Court, to settle this action upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Settlement Agreement (the "Settlement Agreement"), which has been filed with the Court. 2. The Court has reviewed the Settlement Agreement and is familiar with the

files, records, and proceedings to date in this matter.

ORDER APPROVING SETTLEMENT AND AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS - 1
H:\ORDERS\Ampe Order App Settlement 2009-06-12.doc

SCHROETER, GOLDMARK & BENDER
500 Central Building 810 Third Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

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3.

It appears to the Court that the Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and

adequate and that the Court should approve settlement of the case on this basis. 4. The request of plaintiffs' counsel for an award of attorneys' fees of $56,250

and costs of $8,750.55 to be paid from the common fund created by the settlement is reasonable and should be approved. The fee award is 25% of the common fund and less than half counsel's reasonable lodestar amount. necessary to litigation of this case. Based upon the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 5. Approval of Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement, including all The requested costs were reasonable and

Exhibits thereto, is approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court finds that (a) the Settlement Agreement resulted from extensive arm's length negotiations and only after significant discovery and litigation in the case; (b) the amount offered in settlement appears reasonable and adequate in light of the costs, delays, and risks inherent in continued litigation; (c) the proposed plan for allocation of net settlement funds among individual plaintiffs is fair and reasonable; and (d) the Settlement Agreement protects the rights of individual plaintiffs by allowing them to proceed with litigation of their claims, unaffected by the Settlement Agreement, should they decline to sign an individual release. 6. Stay of Proceedings. All discovery and other proceedings in this action are

hereby stayed and suspended until further order of the Court, except such actions as may be necessary to implement the Settlement Agreement and this Order. The trial date and all filing deadlines relating thereto are hereby vacated. 7. Notice, Releases, and Dismissal of Claims. Within five (5) days of the date of

this Order, Class Counsel shall cause individual releases in the form appended as Exhibit 1 to

ORDER APPROVING SETTLEMENT AND AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS - 2
H:\ORDERS\Ampe Order App Settlement 2009-06-12.doc

SCHROETER, GOLDMARK & BENDER
500 Central Building 810 Third Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

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the Settlement Agreement to be mailed by United States mail to the last known valid addresses of each plaintiff. Counsel shall accompany each release with a Notice in the form appended as Exhibit 2 to the Declaration of Adam J. Berger filed in support of the Motion. Plaintiffs shall have sixty (60) days from the date of mailing to return signed releases to Class Counsel. Any plaintiff who returns a signed release shall be bound by this Order and by the terms and conditions of the Settlement Agreement and shall have his claims dismissed with prejudice by the Court pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement. Any plaintiff who does not return a signed release within the specified time period shall not be bound by the Settlement Agreement, shall not be entitled to any compensation or benefits under the Settlement Agreement, and shall be free to continue litigating his or her claims in this case. DATED this 19th day of June, 2009.

A
RONALD B. LEIGHTON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE PRESENTED BY:

SCHROETER, GOLDMARK & BENDER
s/____________________________ ADAM J. BERGER, WSBA #20714 Counsel for Plaintiffs APPROVED AS TO FORM AND FOR ENTRY; NOTICE OF PRESENTATION WAIVED: SEBRIS BUSTO JAMES s/_________________________________ M. EDWARD TAYLOR, WSBA #16864 Counsel for Defendant
ORDER APPROVING SETTLEMENT AND AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS - 3
H:\ORDERS\Ampe Order App Settlement 2009-06-12.doc

SCHROETER, GOLDMARK & BENDER
500 Central Building 810 Third Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Phone [phone] Fax [phone]