October 11, 2011 |
Filing
241
ORDER granting the parties' joint motion for an order granting final approval of the settlement and settlement agreement 224 , as well as plaintiffs' motion for an award of attorney's fees and costs 228 . The motion 232 filed by Cy nthia Cole, Darin Takahashi, and Steve McDaniel for leave to withdraw certain of their objections to the parties' proposed settlement agreement is granted, and the objections in question are deemed withdrawn. The motion 209 filed by the Cole p laintiffs seeking to modify the briefing schedule set forth in the Court's April 6, 2011 Decision and Order is denied as moot. The parties are hereby directed to submit to the Court an agreed-upon Final Order of Settlement by November 1, 2011. Signed by Hon. David G. Larimer on 10/11/11. (EMA)
|
April 6, 2011 |
Filing
208
ORDER granting the parties' joint motion for preliminary approval of a settlement in this case 183 .Pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), the Court conditionally certifies, for settlement purposes only, a collective action under the Fair Labor S tandards Act, as to all individuals who were employed by JPMorgan Chase in a Covered Position in the United States at any time from September 8, 1996 through the date of this Decision and Order.The Court appoints, for settlement purposes only, plaint iffs Michael C. Davis, Elena Lombardo, Carol Smith and Andrew Whalen as representatives of the class. The Court also appoints, for settlement purposes only, the law firm of Thomas & Solomon, LLP as class counsel.The Court approves Rust Consulting, I nc. as the Claims Administrator to perform duties in accordance with § VI., subsection 2.10 of the Stipulation. The Court finds that the procedures for notifying the Class about the settlement as described in the Stipulation provide the best not ice practicable under the circumstances and therefore meet the requirements of due process and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and directs the mailing of the Class Notice and the attachments thereto in accordance with the Stipulation. The Court approves, as to form and content, the proposed Class Notice, attached to the Stipulation as Exhibit 2, except that the Court finds that the notice should include information advising recipients of the notice of the pendency of the Cole, Pickle, and Ebert actions, as described in the body of this Decision and Order, and of the fact that, should the class member not opt out of this action, any claims that the class member may have in those or any other actions within the scope of the release in t his lawsuit will be barred. This revised notice should be submitted to the Court for approval.Any written objections to this settlement must be filed with this Court no later than June 21, 2011. In the event that the Effective Date does not occur, t he settlement and Stipulation shall be deemed null and void and shall have no effect whatsoever, except for those provisions in the Stipulation relating to non-admissibility and non-admission of liability and those provisions relating to the return o f documents and discovery. In such case, nothing in the Stipulation or this Decision and Order shall be relied upon, cited as, constitute evidence of, or constitute an admission that class or collective-action certification is or may be appropriate in this action or any other matter. The parties are ordered to carry out the settlement according to the terms of the Stipulation.The Court will conduct a fairness and good faith determination hearing ("hearing") on 7/21/11 at 9:00 a.m. for the purposes of: (1) making a final determination of the fairness, adequacy, and reasonableness of the settlement terms and procedures; (2) fixing the amount of attorneys fees and litigation costs and expenses to class counsel and enhancement awards to the class representatives; (3) hearing any timely and properly filed objections; and (4) entering judgment. The hearing may be continued without further notice to class members. The parties shall file their motion for approval of the settlement , and class counsel shall file their motion for attorneys fees, litigation costs and expenses, and for class representatives enhancement awards, on or before 7/14/11. Plaintiffs' motion for class certification 138 , and for an extension of time to file a response 168 are denied as moot. Defendants' motions for an extension of time to file a response to the Cole plaintiffs' motions for joinder and for intervention 172 , and to strike the Cole plaintiffs' supplemental memor andum of law 199 , are denied as moot. The motion to intervene filed by Cynthia Cole, Sally Helmken, Darin Takahashi, and Carrie Wehner 158 is denied. The motion for leave to file a reply brief filed by Cynthia Cole, Sally Helmken, Darin Takahashi, and Carrie Wehner Dkt. 179 is granted. The motion for leave to joinder in the Cole plaintiffs motion to intervene filed by Carol Hughes and Gayla Pickle 166 is granted. Signed by Hon. David G. Larimer on 4/6/11. (EMA)
|