UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO 

WESTERN DIVISION 

BRIAN EMCH, on behalf of himself 

and all others similarly situated, 

Plaintiff, 

vs. 

COMMUNITY INSURANCE 

COMPANY d/b/a ANTHEM BLUE 

CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD, 

Defendant. 

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Case No.: 1:17-cv-856 

Judge Michael R. Barrett 

ORDER PRELIMINARILY APPROVING CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT 

AGREEMENT, SCHEDULING FINAL APPROVAL HEARING, AND 

DIRECTING NOTICE TO CLASS 

This matter is before the Court on the motion of Plaintiff, Brian Emch, individually 

and as representative of the Class (“Plaintiff”) for preliminary approval of the Class Action 

Settlement Agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) entered into between Plaintiff and 

Defendant Community Insurance Company (“Defendant” or “Community”). Plaintiff and 

Defendant are sometimes individually a “Party” and collectively the “Parties.” Unless 

otherwise specified herein, all capitalized terms used in this Preliminary Order Approving 

Class Action Settlement (“Preliminary Approval Order”) shall have the same meaning set 

forth in the Settlement Agreement. Based on the motion, the terms of the Settlement 

Agreement, the filings in this case, the arguments of counsel, and being fully 

advised, the Court hereby FINDS and ORDERS as follows: 

Case: 1:17-cv-00856-MRB Doc #: 45 Filed: 05/20/21 Page: 1 of 4 PAGEID #: 433
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1. Class Members. This Court finds that the requirements of Federal Rules of

Civil Procedure (“Rule” or “Rules”) 23(b)(3) having been satisfied, the following Class is 

conditionally certified for purposes of settlement: 

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2. Class Representatives and Class Counsel. The Court hereby appoints

Plaintiff as Class Representative and the law firms of Strauss Troy Co. LPA, and Jordan 

Lewis, P.A., as Class Counsel. 

3. Preliminary Approval. The settlement set forth in the Settlement Agreement

between the Parties is preliminarily approved as fair, reasonable, adequate, within the 

range of possible approval, and in the best interests of the Class, subject to a hearing for 

final approval as provided herein. The Court further preliminarily finds that the 

settlement provided for in the Settlement Agreement represents a fair, reasonable, and 

adequate settlement to the Class as a whole. The proposed Settlement Agreement is 

sufficient to justify the issuance of notice of the settlement to the Class. 

4. Class Notice. The Court approves the form and substance of the Notice of

Class Action Settlement (“Class Notice”). The Class Notice is fair, reasonable, and 

adequate and the proposed form and method for notifying the Class of the settlements 

and their terms and conditions meet the requirements of Rule 23; constitute the best 

notice practicable under the circumstances of this case; and shall constitute due and 

sufficient notice to all persons and entities entitled to notice. In accordance with the 

Settlement Agreement, Class Counsel shall cause the Class Notice to be delivered to the 

Case: 1:17-cv-00856-MRB Doc #: 45 Filed: 05/20/21 Page: 2 of 4 PAGEID #: 434
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Class Members within ten (10) of the entry of this Order by disseminating the Class Notice 

through the methods specified in section 5.03 of the Settlement Agreement. 

5. Exclusions. Any Class Member who elects to “opt out” of the Settlement

Agreement and be excluded from this case, the Class, and the terms of the Settlement 

Agreement must submit an exclusion request to Class Counsel by letter postmarked on 

or before D GDWH WR EH DJUHHG XSRQ E\ WKH 3DUWLHV DQG LQFOXGHG LQ WKH 1RWLFH. To be 

effective, the exclusion request must provide all of the information identified in the 

Notice. All Class Members who timely submit an exclusion request shall be excluded 

from the settlement, shall have no rights with respect to the settlement and no interest 

in the settlement proceeds, and shall not be bound by the terms of the Settlement 

Agreement. All Class Members who do not timely submit an exclusion request shall be 

included in the settlement if finally approved by this Court, shall be bound by the 

judgment of this Court, and shall be bound by the terms of the Settlement 

Agreement. 

6. Objections. Any member of the Class who intends to object to this

settlement must submit a written Objection to Class Counsel at the address noted on the 

Class Notice with a postmarked date on or before DGDWHWREHDJUHHGXSRQE\WKH3DUWLHV

DQG LQFOXGHG LQ WKH 1RWLFH To be considered, the Objection must state: the Class 

Member’s name, address, telephone number, signature, and reasons for objecting to 

the settlement. Any member of the Class who does not timely submit an Objection in this 

manner will be treated as not having filed a valid Objection and be deemed to have 

waived all objections. No member of the Class will be permitted to raise any objections at 

the Final Fairness Hearing that the Class Member did not raise in an Objection. 

7. Entry of Appearance. Any member of the Class who properly objects to the

approval of the settlement may appear and be heard at the Final Fairness Hearing. 

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8. Final Approval. The Court shall conduct a Final Fairness Hearing regarding

the proposed settlement (the “Final Fairness Hearing”) on -XO\ , 2021 at 

 Dm. (EST) at the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse, 100 East Fifth Street

&RXUWURRP, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. At the Final Fairness Hearing, the Court will 

consider whether the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and in the 

best interest of the Class and whether the proposed settlement represents a fair and 

reasonable resolution of the claims made in the Lawsuit. The Court will also determine 

whether the Final Approval Order should be entered, thereby dismissing the claims 

against Defendant with prejudice and releasing the Settled Claims against the 

Defendant. The Final Fairness Hearing described herein may be postponed, adjourned, 

or continued by journalized order of the Court without further notice to the Class 

Members. Attendance at the Final Fairness Hearing is not required and Class 

Members need not take any other action to indicate their approval of the proposed 

Settlement Agreement. Any Class Members who object to the settlement must submit an 

Objection pursuant to paragraph 6 above. 

9. Effect of Termination. If the Court declines to enter the Final Approval

Order as described herein then the settlement shall be null and void, shall have no 

further force and effect with respect to any Party in this case or any member of the 

Class, and neither the Settlement Agreement nor any of its terms shall be used in this 

case or any other case for any purpose. 

SO ORDERED. 

Dated: _____________, 2021 Michael R. Barrett 

United States District Judge 

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