Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_14-cv-01389/USCOURTS-caed-2_14-cv-01389-6/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Monetary Management of California, Inc.
Defendant
Tita Rodas
Plaintiff

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

TITA RODAS, on behalf of herself and all 

others similarly situated

Plaintiff,

v.

MONETARY MANAGEMENT OF 

CALIFORNIA, INC., a Delaware 

Corporation; and DOES 1–10, inclusive,

Defendants.

No. 2:14-cv-01389-TLN-AC

ORDER GRANTING PRELMINARY 

APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION 

SETTLEMENT, CONDITIONALLY 

CERTIFYING A SETTLEMENT CLASS, 

APPROVING FORM OF NOTICE TO THE 

CLASS AND SETTING HEARING ON 

FINAL APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT

The parties to the above-captioned action have agreed to settle pursuant to the terms and 

conditions set forth in a Preliminary Settlement Agreement (the “Settlement” or “Settlement 

Agreement”).1 Plaintiff Tita Rodas’s Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Settlement (ECF 

No. 24) is unopposed, and the parties have filed the Settlement Agreement (ECF No. 24-2, Ex. B)

with the Court. After considering the papers and the arguments of counsel, and good cause 

appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED THAT: 

1. For purposes of this Order, the Court adopts and incorporates all definitions set forth in 

the Settlement Agreement. 

2. The Court finds that the requirements of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of 

 

1 The Court adopts essentially verbatim the Proposed Order submitted by Plaintiff. (ECF No. 24-3.)

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Civil Procedure and other laws and rules applicable to the preliminary approval of class action 

settlements have been satisfied, and the Court preliminarily approves the settlement of this Action

as memorialized in the Settlement Agreement, which is incorporated herein by this reference, as 

being fair, just, reasonable, and adequate to the settlement Class and its members, subject to 

further consideration at the Final Fairness and Approval Hearing described below. Based on a 

review of the papers submitted, the Court finds that the Settlement is the result of extensive armslength negotiations conducted after Class Counsel had adequately investigated the claims and 

became familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of those claims, is recommended by Class 

Counsel, and is thus presumptively valid, subject only to any objections that may be raised at the 

final fairness hearing and final approval by this Court. The assistance of an experienced mediator 

in the settlement process supports the Court’s conclusion that the Settlement is non-collusive. 

The Court thus hereby:

(a) Conditionally certifies solely for the purpose of implementing the Settlement 

Agreement the Class defined in the Settlement Agreement;

(b) Appoints Plaintiff Tita Rodas as the Class Representative; and 

(c) Appoints Gaines & Gaines, APLC as attorneys for the Class (Class Counsel) 

for purposes of settlements and finds for the purposes of settlement that these 

attorneys are qualified to represent the Class. 

3. It is ordered that the Class defined in the Settlement Agreement is preliminarily 

certified for settlement purposes only.2If the Settlement does not become final for any reason, 

the fact that the Parties were willing to stipulate to class action certification as part of the 

Settlement shall have no bearing on, and will not be admissible in connection with, the issue of 

whether a class in this Action should be certified in a non-settlement context. The Court’s 

findings are solely for purposes of conditionally certifying a Settlement Class and will not have 

any claim or issue or evidentiary preclusion or estoppel effect in any other action against the 

Defendant, or in this litigation if the Settlement is not finally approved. 

 

2

Said class is defined as: “all persons employed by Monetary Management in the State of California in a nonexempt, retail store position at any time between May 6, 2010 and April 15, 2015.” (Settlement Agreement, ¶ 4.)

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4. A hearing (the “Final Fairness and Approval Hearing”) shall be held on April 21, 2016, 

at 2:00 p.m. before the Honorable Troy L. Nunley, in Courtroom 2 of the United States District 

Court for the Eastern District of California, located at 501 I Street, Sacramento, California 95814. 

At that time, the Court shall determine: (a) whether the proposed settlement of the Action on the 

terms and conditions provided for in the Settlement Agreement is fair, just, reasonable and 

adequate and should be finally approved; (b) whether judgment as provided in the Settlement 

Agreement should be entered herein; and (c) whether to approve Class Counsel’s application for 

an award of attorneys’ fees and costs, Plaintiff’s application for a service enhancement payment, 

and Plaintiff’s request for payment of expenses to the Settlement Administrator. The Court may 

continue or adjourn the Final Fairness and Approval Hearing without further notice to members 

of the Class. 

5. The Court approves as to form and content, the Class Notice attached to the Settlement 

Agreement as Exhibit 1 and the Request for Exclusion Form attached to the Settlement 

Agreement as Exhibit 2. The Court finds that distribution of the Class Notice in the manner set 

forth in this Order and the Settlement Agreement constitutes the best notice practicable under the 

circumstances, and constitutes valid, due and sufficient notice to all members of the Class, 

complying fully with the requirements of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the 

Constitution of the United States, and any other applicable laws. The Class Notice set forth 

herein and in the Settlement Agreement provides a means of notice reasonably calculated to 

apprise the Class Members of the pendency of the action and the proposed Settlement, and 

thereby meets the requirements of Rule 23(c)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as well 

as due process under the United States Constitution and any other applicable law, and shall 

constitute due and sufficient notice to all Class Members entitled thereto. 

6. The Court approves the selection of Rust Consulting, Inc. as the Settlement 

Administrator. The Settlement Administrator will administer the applicable provisions of the 

Settlement Agreement, including, but not limited to, distributing and providing the Class Notice 

and Request for Exclusion Form, preparing and issuing all disbursements of the Settlement 

Amount to Final Settlement Class Members, and handling inquiries about the calculation of 

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the individual settlement amounts. 

7. The Parties are ordered to carry out and proceed with the Settlement according to the 

terms of the Settlement and this Order. 

8. No later than ten (10) calendar days after the date of this Order, Defendant shall 

provide the Settlement Administrator with the following last known information for each Class 

Member: (1) name, (2) address, (3) telephone number, (4) Social Security Number, and (5) the 

number of workdays each Class Member worked in California in a non-exempt, retail store 

position between May 6, 2010 and April 15, 2015. 

9. No later than twenty (20) calendar days after the date of this Order, the Settlement 

Administrator shall mail the Class Notice and Request for Exclusion Form to Class Members. 

10. Any person may request to be excluded from the Class by mailing a completed 

Request For Exclusion Form by first class mail to the Settlement Administrator as provided in the 

Class Notice. Any such request will be timely only if postmarked no later than thirty (30) 

calendar days after the Class Notice is initially mailed to Class Members. 

11. Class Counsel shall file a motion for approval of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement 

of expenses and the Class Representative service enhancement payment no later than twenty (20) 

calendar days after the date of this Order, and Class Counsel shall file a motion for final approval 

of the Settlement no later than April 7, 2016.

12. Any Class Member who does not submit a Request for Exclusion Form may object to 

the approval of the Settlement or the award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of expenses to 

Class Counsel or the award of a service enhancement payment to the Class Representative. Any 

such objection will be timely only if mailed to the Settlement Administrator by first class mail as 

provided in the Class Notice and postmarked no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the Class 

Notice is initially mailed to Class Members. Class Counsel shall file any objections with the 

Court promptly upon their receipt. 

13. Any Class Member who has filed and served such written objections may, but is 

not required to, appear himself or herself, or through counsel, at the Final Fairness and Approval 

Hearing and object to the approval of the Settlement or the award of attorneys’ fees and 

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reimbursement of expenses to Class Counsel or the award of a service payment to the Class 

Representative. No Class Member, or any other person, shall be heard or entitled to contest the 

approval of the proposed Settlement, the judgment to be entered approving the same, the award of 

attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of expenses to Class Counsel, or the award of a service 

enhancement payment to the Class Representative, unless that Class Member or other person has 

submitted written objections in the manner set forth herein. The Parties may file any response to 

the objections submitted by objecting Class Members or other persons no later than the filing 

deadline for Plaintiff’s motion for final approval of the Settlement.

14. Any Class Member or other person who does not file and serve his or her objection(s) 

in the manner so provided herein and in the Class Notice shall be deemed to have waived such 

objection(s) and shall forever be foreclosed from making any objection(s) to the fairness or 

adequacy of the proposed Settlement as incorporated in the Settlement Agreement and the award 

of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of expenses to counsel and the right to appeal any orders 

that are entered relating thereto, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. 

15. In the event the Settlement is not finally approved, or otherwise does not become 

effective in accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement, this Order of Preliminary 

Approval shall be rendered null and void and shall be vacated, and the Parties shall revert to their 

respective positions as of before entering into the Settlement Agreement. 

16. The Court reserves the right to adjourn the date of the Final Fairness and Approval 

Hearing and any adjournment thereof without further notice to the members of the Class, and 

retains jurisdiction to consider all further applications arising out of or connected with the 

settlement. The Court may approve the settlement, with such modifications as may be agreed to 

by the Parties to the settlement, if appropriate, without further notice to the Class. 

Dated: February 23, 2016

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