Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_10-cv-01207/USCOURTS-cand-3_10-cv-01207-7/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 790
Nature of Suit: Other Labor Litigation
Cause of Action: 28:1331 Fed. Question

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

ALBERT LOPEZ, et al.,

Plaintiffs,

v.

BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

Defendant.

Case No. 10-cv-01207-JST 

ORDER GRANTING STIPULATION; 

APPROVING PROPOSED 

ADDITIONAL POSTCARD; AND 

SETTING FURTHER SCHEDULE

Re: ECF Nos. 49, 50, 61

On March 3, 2015, Plaintiffs moved for final approval of their class action settlement with

Defendant. ECF No. 49. Plaintiffs also filed a stipulation asking the Court to approve an 

additional postcard notice to class members who signed severance agreements with Bank of 

America between September 4, 2014 and the close of the claims period. ECF No. 50. The 

postcard would inform those class members that, despite their severance agreements, they are

entitled to participate as class members in the proposed settlement of this case. Id.

As stated at the April 23, 2015 settlement fairness hearing, the Court advised the parties 

that postcard notices the settlement administrator sent to class members did not include three 

specific items of information the Court had previously ordered the notices to include in its 

preliminary approval order, ECF No. 48. The parties agreed to remedy this error by sending an 

additional postcard notice to class members, containing the Court-ordered revisions, and to extend

the claims period by thirty days.

At the fairness hearing, the Court also ordered Plaintiffs’ counsel to provide further 

information in support of Plaintiffs’ counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees. Specifically, the Court 

requested information regarding the number of hours worked by each attorney on the case, the 

general categories of work performed by those attorneys, and the specific tasks those attorneys 

performed within each category. The Court also ordered Plaintiffs’ counsel to submit billing 

Case 3:10-cv-01207-JST Document 62 Filed 05/06/15 Page 1 of 5
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United States District Court

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records or other similar source documentation supporting the claimed fees. Finally, the Court 

expressed concern as to the hourly rates Plaintiffs’ attorney Hart charged to the class for work 

performed by contract attorneys, which ranged from $350 to $400 per hour. 

On April 30, 2015, the parties filed a status report addressing the Court’s concerns. See

ECF No. 61. In the report, the parties proposed a revised schedule and new final fairness hearing 

date premised on the sending of additional postcard notice and the extended claims period. ECF 

No. 61. The parties also submitted a proposed additional postcard notice containing the revisions 

discussed at the hearing, and explained that the settlement administrator would bear the full cost of 

the additional notice. Id. at 2 & Ex. A. Finally, Plaintiffs’ counsel asked for clarification 

regarding the additional information the Court would need to approve Plaintiffs’ request for 

attorneys’ fees. Id. at 1.

In light of the foregoing, the Court hereby orders as follows:

1. The stipulation at ECF No. 50, which pertains to additional notice for class 

members who signed severance agreements between September 4, 2014 and the end of the claims 

period, is granted;

2. The revised version of the reminder postcard, ECF No. 61, Ex. A, is approved;

3. The updated implementation schedule, with modifications as shown below, is 

approved;

Activity

Timing of 

Activity

Estimated 

Deadline

Parties submit revised Reminder Postcard to Court for approval By Court Order 04/30/15

Court approves revised Reminder Postcard 15 days after 

submission

05/15/15

Deadline for Claims Administrator to mail Reminder Postcard 

to class members who did not submit a claim, request for 

exclusion, or objection

15 days after 

Court approval

05/30/15

Last date for Plaintiffs to file renewed motion for attorneys’ At least 14 days 6/15/15

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Activity

Timing of 

Activity

Estimated 

Deadline

fees (see Procedural Guidance for Class Action Settlements, 

available at 

http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/ClassActionSettlementGuidance)

before the 

deadline for 

objecting to the 

settlement

Deadline for class members to submit claim, request for 

exclusion, or objection

Within 30 days 

after Reminder 

Postcard mailed

06/29/15

Report from Claims Administrator to Counsel for the Parties 

indicating proposed benefits to be paid, incomplete claims, and 

the deadline for submission of correct Claims Forms.

Within 30 days 

after close of 

Claims Period

07/29/15

Defendants’ last day to revoke settlement based on number of 

requests for exclusion (see Settlement Agreement § 3.16)

10 days after 

Claims 

Administrator 

notifies the 

Parties as to the 

total number of 

requests for 

exclusion

08/07/15

Parties to submit report to Court regarding final results of 

claims 

Within 15 days 

after receipt of 

report from 

Claims 

Administrator

08/13/15

Final fairness hearing 08/27/15

Court enters final order and judgment 08/27/15

Effective Date of Settlement – assuming no appeals (see

Settlement Agreement § 1.11)

31 days after 

final approval of 

settlement

09/28/15

Defendants wire settlement pay-out funds to Claims 

Administrator (see Settlement Agreement § 3.25(c))

15 court days 

after Effective 

Date

10/15/15

Claims Administrator issues the following payments: (1) 

settlement class awards; (2) service payments to the Settlement 

Class Representatives; (3) Settlement Class Counsel’s 

attorneys’ fees and costs to Settlement Class Counsel; (4) costs 

30 days after 

Effective Date

10/28/15

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Activity

Timing of 

Activity

Estimated 

Deadline

of administration to the Claims Administrator; (5) PAGA 

penalties to the Labor &Workforce Development Agency (see

Settlement Agreement § 3.25(c))

Defendants file Claims Administrator’s written certification of 

completion of settlement administration (see Settlement 

Agreement § 3.25(c))

Eight months 

after the first 

mailing date of 

the Settlement 

Class Awards by 

the Claims 

Administrator to 

qualified 

participating 

claimants

06/28/16

4. Plaintiffs’ counsel shall submit, in support of the motion for attorneys’ fees, “charts 

that break down, by individual attorney for whom fees are claimed, the attorney’s work on this 

case by general category, and by specific categories of tasks performed within that category, 

and . . . the total number of hours worked in each category.” See Dyer v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 

303 F.R.D. 326, 333 (N.D. Cal. 2014). Plaintiffs’ counsel shall also lodge with the Clerk of the 

Court complete hourly billing records or similar source documentation supporting the fee request. 

See Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 437 (1983) (“[T]he fee applicant [must] document[] the 

appropriate hours expended and hourly rates.”).

5. Plaintiffs’ counsel shall submit the same type of documentation in support of the 

request for reimbursement for work performed by contract attorneys. Plaintiffs’ counsel may only 

request a reasonable hourly rate for the work that contract attorneys performed. See In re 

Citigroup Inc. Sec. Litig., 965 F. Supp. 2d 369, 393-99 (S.D.N.Y. 2013). The requested rate 

should be tailored to the particular geographic region in which the contract attorneys worked and 

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the tasks that they performed. Id. Plaintiffs’ counsel shall also lodge with the Clerk of the Court

records showing the actual hourly rate paid to the contract attorneys for whom fees are claimed.

6. The final approval hearing is set for August 27, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: May 6, 2015

______________________________________

JON S. TIGAR

United States District Judge

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