Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_14-cv-00264/USCOURTS-cand-3_14-cv-00264-22/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 710
Nature of Suit: Fair Labor Standards Act
Cause of Action: 29:201 Fair Labor Standards Act

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

WILLIAM WOODS, et al.,

Plaintiffs,

v.

VECTOR MARKETING CORPORATION,

Defendant.

Case No. 14-cv-00264-EMC 

ORDER RE SUPPLEMENTAL 

BRIEFING ON PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION 

FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL

Docket No. 255

The Court has reviewed Plaintiffs‟ motion for preliminary approval, and hereby orders the 

parties to provide a joint supplemental brief regarding the following issues. The supplemental 

briefing shall be filed no later than May 20, 2016.

1. Attorney‟s Fees

Plaintiffs‟ counsel intends to seek an award of one-third (331⁄3%) of the Gross Settlement 

Fund ($2,247,750.00) as the Fee Award, plus reimbursement of reasonable and actual expenses, 

not to exceed $181,000, as the Expense Award. See Docket No. 255-1 (Humphrey Dec.) at ¶ 

14.E. Plaintiffs should provide specific, non-conclusory information as to why a departure from 

the 25% benchmark is appropriate (e.g., how the issues in this case were particularly difficult, 

complex, or novel, particularly given Harris v. Vector Marketing Corp.). See, e.g., Vizcaino v. 

Microsoft Corp., 290 F.3d 1043, 1047-48 (9th Cir. 2012).

Further, to assess the fee request, even for purposes of preliminary approval only, the 

Court is in need of information as to the lodestar claimed -- i.e., the number of hours incurred in 

the case and the hourly rates claimed. Plaintiffs‟ attorneys shall file with this Court, ex parte and 

under seal, one (1) declaration that states the total number of hours worked on this litigation, and 

which breaks the number of hours down by task (e.g., “Initial Case Investigation,” “Settlement 

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United States District Court

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Negotiations and Mediation,” etc.). Counsel shall attach their actual time records to the 

declaration. The declaration and associated records shall be filed with the Court no later than May 

20, 2016. The parties should also ensure that the fee motion is filed and available on the Class 

Administrator‟s website at least twenty-one (21) days before objections to the proposed settlement 

are due.

2. Released Claims

The parties should clarify whether individuals who are members of the state law classes, 

but not the FLSA collective action, are bound by the Settlement‟s release of FLSA claims. See 

Tijero v. Aaron Bros., Inc., No. C 10-01089 SBA, 2013 WL 60464, at *8 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 2, 2013) 

(“it is contrary to § 216(b) to bind class members to a release of FLSA claims where, as here, the 

members have not affirmatively elected to participate in the lawsuit by filing a written consent 

form”); La Parne v. Monex Deposit Co., No. SACV 08-0302 DOC (MLGx), 2010 WL 4916606, 

at *3 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 29, 2010) (agreeing with the courts which “have determined that it would be 

contrary to the [FLSA] to bind class members who do not affirmatively elect, through opt-in 

procedures, to participate in the FLSA suit,” and that “[t]herefore, only class members who 

affirmatively „opt-in‟ to the Settlement should be bound by the Settlement‟s release of FLSA 

liability”); Kakani v. Oracle Corp., No. C 06-06493 WHA, 2007 WL 1793774, at *7 (N.D. Cal. 

June 19, 2007) (finding that “[t]he settlement agreement would violate the [FLSA] because it “is 

unconscionable to try to take away the FLSA rights of all workers, whether or not they choose to 

join in affirmatively”).

The parties should discuss what effect the settlement will have on an individual‟s ability to 

bring a representative action under California‟s Private Attorney General Act (PAGA), Cal. Lab. 

Code § 2698 et seq., which is a claim that is on behalf of the state rather than the individual.

3. Maximum Value of Case

Plaintiffs emphasize in their motion that the settlement value is a significant amount when 

compared to the potential recovery of the case. However, Plaintiffs provide only an estimate of 

the minimum wage claim. The parties must provide an estimated value of claims other than the 

minimum wage claim, i.e., PAGA penalties, and failure to pay wages upon termination for the 

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United States District Court

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New York Subclass. 

4. Reversionary

The Settlement Agreement provides that all checks tendered to participating class members 

will remain valid for 180 days, after which it is automatically canceled if not cashed by the class 

member. The class member‟s claim to any settlement award is then deemed “null and void,” 

although the class member is still bound by the settlement. The parties should provide an estimate

of what proportion of settlement checks they expect will be uncashed, and will therefore revert 

back to Defendants. The parties should also explain whether following the 180-day period, 

additional follow-up by the Settlement Administrator and further time to negotiate the check may 

be warranted rather than automatically voiding a class member‟s claim.

5. Responses to Objections from Class Members

If the parties have any responses to objections from class members, the parties should file 

their responses fourteen (14) days before the final approval hearing.

6. CAFA Notice

The parties should address when CAFA notice was given. See 28 U.S.C. § 1715(b).

7. Class Notice (Exhibit A of Settlement Agreement)

a. Terms of the Settlement

On the first page of the notice, there should be a short statement regarding the expected 

average recovery per class member. It must be bolded.

b. Class Definitions (Pages 2-3)

The California State Law Class excludes individuals who “(c) signed Defendant‟s Sales 

Representative Agreement containing the arbitration and class action waiver which the Court in 

this Case ruled was enforceable, in its Order filed in the Action on August 29, 2014 (the 

„Arbitration Agreement‟)”. Docket No. 255-4 (Class Notice) at 2. This should be corrected to 

August 28, 2014, the date of the Court‟s order granting Vector‟s motion to compel arbitration. See

Docket No. 54.

c. What is This Settlement About (Page 4)

The parties must remove the sentence in that states, “Therefore, Plaintiffs‟ Counsel 

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believes that the Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate for the Class Members.”

d. Opt-Out (Page 5)

In order for a class member to opt-out from the Settlement, they are required to submit a 

written, signed Request for Exclusion that contains the name of the Action, identifying 

information, the words “Request for Exclusion” at the top of the document, and the following 

statement:

“I wish to be excluded from the Settlement of this case, William 

Woods v. Vector Marketing Corp. (Case No. 14-CV-00264-EMC). I 

understand that by requesting to be excluded from the Settlement, I

will receive no money from the Settlement and I may bring a 

separate action. I understand that in any separate action, I may 

receive nothing or less than I would have received if I had not asked 

to be excluded from the Settlement. I understand that I should 

consult with an attorney, at my own expense, regarding the 

applicable statute of limitation.”

Class Notice at 5. The parties should address why such a lengthy statement is required to exclude 

oneself from the action, and/or whether it would be more efficient to provide a pre-printed 

document with the above statement that class members could fill out, sign, and mail to the 

Settlement Administrator.

In addition, the Settlement Agreement provides that the Request for Exclusion must be 

personally signed by the Class Member, such that a Request for Exclusion cannot be submitted by 

an agent or attorney acting on behalf of the Class Member. Settlement Agreement at ¶ 4.3.2. 

However, the Notice does not state that the Request for Exclusion must be personally signed by 

the Class Member. See Class Notice at 5. The Class Notice must clearly state this requirement.

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e. Contact Information for the Claims Administrator (Page 7)

The parties should provide additional contact information for the Claims Administrator, 

e.g., a mailing address, an e-mail address, and a fax number.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: May 9, 2016

______________________________________

EDWARD M. CHEN

United States District Judge

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