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[PROPOSED] FINAL ORDER APPROVING CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT & ENTERING FINAL JUDGMENT

CASE NO. 5:16-CV-07013-LHK (SVK) 783370.7 

Guy B. Wallace (SBN 176151) 

gwallace@schneiderwallace.com 

Mark T. Johnson (SBN 76904) 

mjohnson@schneiderwallace.com 

SCHNEIDER WALLACE 

COTTRELL KONECKY LLP 

2000 Powell Street, Suite 1400 

Emeryville, CA 94608 

(415) 421-7100; (415) 421-7105 (Fax) 

Linda M. Dardarian (SBN 131001) 

ldardarian@gbdhlegal.com 

Andrew P. Lee (SBN 245903) 

alee@gbdhlegal.com 

Katharine L. Fisher (SBN 305413) 

kfisher@gbdhlegal.com 

GOLDSTEIN, BORGEN, DARDARIAN & HO 

300 Lakeside Drive, Suite 1000 

Oakland, CA 94612 

(510) 763-9800; (510) 835-1417 (Fax) 

Adam B. Wolf (SBN 215914) 

awolf@pwcklegal.com 

Catherine Cabalo (SBN 248198) 

ccabalo@pwcklegal.com 

PEIFFER WOLF CARR & KANE 

4 Embarcadero Center, 14th Floor 

San Francisco, CA 94111 

(415) 766-3592; (415) 402-0058 (Fax) 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs and the Certified Classes 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SAN JOSE DIVISION 

ABDUL NEVAREZ and PRISCILLA NEVAREZ, 

on behalf of themselves and all others similarly 

situated, and SEBASTIAN DEFRANCESCO, 

 Plaintiffs, 

vs. 

FORTY NINERS FOOTBALL COMPANY, LLC, 

a Delaware limited liability company, et al., 

 Defendants. 

CLASS ACTION 

Case No.: 5:16-cv-07013-LHK (SVK) 

[PROPOSED] FINAL ORDER APPROVING 

CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND 

ENTERING FINAL JUDGMENT 

Date: July 16, 2020 

Time: 1:30 p.m. 

Dept: Courtroom 8 

Before: Hon. Lucy H. Koh 

Case 4:16-cv-07013-HSG Document 395-6 Filed 05/25/20 Page 1 of 8
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[PROPOSED] FINAL ORDER APPROVING CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT & ENTERING FINAL JUDGMENT

CASE NO. 5:16-CV-07013-LHK (SVK) 783370.7 

Plaintiffs have moved the Court for an order granting final approval of the class action 

Settlement Agreement and Release of Claims (“Settlement Agreement”), which was filed with the 

Court at ECF Nos. 375-2; 391. The Court preliminarily approved the Settlement Agreement in this 

action by order entered on March 9, 2020. See ECF No. 392 (“Preliminary Approval Order”). On July 

16, 2020 the Court held a Fairness hearing to consider final approval of the Settlement Agreement and 

to determine, among other things, whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. Having 

considered all the papers submitted by the Parties and by all other persons who timely submitted 

papers in accordance with the Preliminary Approval Order, and having heard oral presentations by the 

Parties and all persons who complied with the Preliminary Approval Order, and based on all of the 

foregoing, together with this Court’s familiarity with the Action, the Court GRANTS the Plaintiffs’ 

Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement. 

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 

1. This Final Order Approving Class Action Settlement incorporates and makes a part 

hereof: (a) the Settlement Agreement, including all exhibits thereto, and definitions included therein, 

which was signed and filed with this Court on October 7, 2019 (see ECF Nos. 375-2 through 375-21) 

and amended on March 2, 2020 (ECF No. 391); (b) the briefs, affidavits, declarations, and other 

materials filed in support of Plaintiffs’ Motions for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement, Service 

Awards, and Reasonable Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Expenses; (c) the record at the Fairness Hearing; 

(d) the documents listed on the docket sheet or otherwise submitted to the Court; and (e) all prior 

proceedings in the Action. All terms used herein, unless otherwise defined, shall have the same 

meanings as set forth in the Settlement Agreement. 

2. The Court finds that the Parties complied with the Notice procedures set forth in the 

Court’s Preliminary Approval Order and Settlement Agreement by disseminating the Court-approved 

long-form Notice (ECF No. 390-3) and Claim Form (ECF No. 390-3) to Class Members by mail and 

email; providing the long-form Notice to the agreed-upon membership and/or service organizations for 

individuals with mobility disabilities; posting the Court-approved short-form Notice (ECF No. 390-1) 

at conspicuous locations throughout Levi’s Stadium and on websites controlled by Defendants; and 

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[PROPOSED] FINAL ORDER APPROVING CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT & ENTERING FINAL JUDGMENT

CASE NO. 5:16-CV-07013-LHK (SVK) 783370.7 

creating and maintaining a Settlement website, email address, and toll-free telephone number. The 

Court further finds that these methods: 

a. constituted the best practicable notice to members of the Plaintiff Classes under 

the circumstances of the Action; 

b. constituted notice that was reasonably calculated, under the circumstances, to 

apprise the Plaintiff Classes of the pendency of the Action, of their right to object to the proposed 

Settlement or, for Damages Class Members, to opt out of the Damages provisions of the Settlement, of 

their right to appear at the Fairness Hearing, and of their right to obtain monetary relief from this 

Settlement; 

c. constituted reasonable, due, adequate and sufficient notice to all Persons entitled 

to receive notice; and 

d. constituted notice that met all applicable requirements of the Federal Rules of 

Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C. § 1715, the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution, and any 

other applicable law, as well as this District’s Procedural Guidance for Class Action Settlements. 

3. The Court finds that the Claim Form distributed to the Damages Class met all 

applicable requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C. § 1715, the Due Process 

Clause of the United States Constitution, and any other applicable law. The Court further finds that the 

Claims Process set forth in the Settlement Agreement provides Damages Class Members with a full 

and fair opportunity to submit claims for damages, an effective method of distributing monetary relief 

to the Damages Class, and provides for an equitable plan of allocation of money damages between 

Damages Class Members. See Rule 23(e)(2)(A)(ii), (D). 

4. On March 9, 2020, the Court preliminarily certified the following classes for settlement 

purposes under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a) and (b)(3): 

Injunctive Relief Class: All persons with mobility disabilities who use wheelchairs, 

scooters, or other mobility aids who will attempt to purchase accessible seating for a public 

event at Levi’s Stadium and who will be denied equal access to the Stadium’s facilities, 

services, accessible seating, parking, amenities, and privileges, including ticketing, from 

December 7, 2013 through the date of the Court’s Order Granting Preliminary Approval of 

Class Action Settlement. 

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[PROPOSED] FINAL ORDER APPROVING CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT & ENTERING FINAL JUDGMENT

CASE NO. 5:16-CV-07013-LHK (SVK) 783370.7 

Companion Injunctive Relief Class: All persons who are companions of persons with 

mobility disabilities who use wheelchairs, scooters or other mobility aids and who have 

used or will use companion seating for public events located at Levi’s Stadium from 

December 7, 2013 through the date of the Court’s Order Granting Preliminary Approval of 

Class Action Settlement. 

Damages Class: All persons with mobility disabilities who use wheelchairs, scooters or 

other mobility aids who have purchased, attempted to purchase, or for whom third parties 

purchased accessible seating and who have been denied equal access to Levi’s Stadium’s 

facilities, services, accessible seating, parking, amenities, and privileges at an event 

controlled by the Forty Niners Football Company, LLC; Forty Niners SC Stadium 

Company, LLC; or Forty Niners Stadium Management Company, LLC, from April 13, 

2015 through the date of the Court’s Order Granting Preliminary Approval of Class Action 

Settlement. 

See ECF No. 392. 

5. The Court finds that the Plaintiff Classes continue to meet the requirements for class 

certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and all other applicable laws and rules. 

6. The Injunctive Relief Class and Companion Injunctive Relief Class are finally certified 

under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(2). The Court concludes that: (a) joinder of all Class Members in a single 

proceeding would be impracticable, if not impossible, because of their numbers and dispersion; (b) 

there are questions of law and fact common to the Plaintiff Classes; (c) Plaintiffs’ claims are typical of 

the claims of the Plaintiff Classes that they seek to represent for purposes of settlement; (d) Plaintiffs 

have fairly and adequately represented the interests of the Classes and will continue to do so; (e) 

Plaintiffs and the Plaintiff Classes are represented by qualified, reputable counsel who are experienced 

in preparing and prosecuting class actions, including those involving the sort of practices alleged in the 

Complaint; and (f) Defendants acted or refused to act on grounds that apply to the Injunctive Relief 

Class and Companion Injunctive Relief Class as a whole. 

7. The Damages Class is finally certified under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3). The Court 

concludes that: (a) joinder of all Damages Class Members in a single proceeding would be 

impracticable, if not impossible, because of their numbers and dispersion; (b) there are questions of 

law and fact common to the Damages Class; (c) Plaintiff Abdul Nevarez’s claims are typical of the 

claims of the Damages Class that he seeks to represent for purposes of settlement; (d) Plaintiff Abdul 

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[PROPOSED] FINAL ORDER APPROVING CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT & ENTERING FINAL JUDGMENT

CASE NO. 5:16-CV-07013-LHK (SVK) 783370.7 

Nevarez has fairly and adequately represented the interests of the Damages Class and will continue to 

do so; (e) Plaintiff Abdul Nevarez and the Damages Class are represented by qualified, reputable 

counsel who are experienced in preparing and prosecuting class actions, including those involving the 

sort of practices alleged in the Complaint; (f) questions of law or fact common to the Damages Class 

predominate over any questions affecting only individual members; and (g) a class action is superior to 

other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy. 

8. Class certification is therefore an appropriate method for protecting the interests of the 

Plaintiff Classes and resolving the common issues of fact and law arising out of the Plaintiffs’ claims 

while also eliminating the risk of duplicative litigation. Accordingly, the Court hereby makes final its 

earlier certification of the Plaintiff Classes and confirms its appointment of Plaintiffs Abdul Nevarez 

and Sebastian DeFrancesco as Injunctive Relief Class Representatives; Plaintiff Priscilla Nevarez as 

the Companion Injunctive Relief Class Representative; Plaintiff Abdul Nevarez as the Damages Class 

Representative; and Guy Wallace of Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP, Linda M. Dardarian of 

Goldstein Borgen Dardarian & Ho, and Adam Wolf of Peiffer Wolf Carr & Kane as Class Counsel. 

9. The Court grants final approval of the Settlement and finds that it is fair, reasonable, 

adequate, and in the best interests of the Plaintiff Classes as a whole. First, the Settlement offers Class 

Members significant injunctive relief regarding all of the claims in the Fourth Amended Complaint, 

including Defendants’ failure to provide physical access and Defendants’ failure to make reasonable 

modifications in policy and practice to ensure equal access to the Stadium’s facilities and services. 

Second, the non-reversionary damages fund offers substantial monetary relief to Damages Class 

Members. Third, as set forth in the Court’s accompanying Orders, the Court finds that Plaintiffs’ 

requested attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses, and Class Representative service awards are reasonable 

and supported by applicable law. Finally, the absence of any objections or exclusions further supports 

final approval of the Settlement. In sum, when considered against the potential risks, expense, 

complexity and duration of further litigation, and the importance of the accessibility of the Stadium 

and its related facilities to the Class Members, the Court finds the relief secured by the Settlement to be 

more than adequate. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2)(C). 

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[PROPOSED] FINAL ORDER APPROVING CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT & ENTERING FINAL JUDGMENT

CASE NO. 5:16-CV-07013-LHK (SVK) 783370.7 

10. The Parties and Settlement Administrator are hereby directed to implement and 

consummate the Settlement according to its terms and provisions and the Court’s Preliminary 

Approval Order. Class Counsel and Defendants shall take all steps necessary and appropriate to 

provide the Plaintiff Class Members with the benefits to which they are entitled under the terms of the 

Settlement. 

11. The Plaintiffs and all Plaintiff Class Members (and their respective heirs, assigns, 

successors, executors, administrators, agents and representatives) are conclusively deemed to have 

released and forever discharged the Released Parties from all released claims as set forth in Section 

XIII the Settlement Agreement. All members of the Injunctive Relief Class and Companion Injunctive 

Relief Class are bound by this Order. All members of the Damages Class, except for those individuals 

who filed valid and timely Opt-Outs, are bound by this Order. Damages Class Members who 

submitted timely and valid Opt-Out requests are neither permitted to share in the benefits of the 

damages fund nor bound by this Final Order and Judgment as to claims for Unruh Act statutory 

minimum damages against the Forty Niners Defendants. Damages Class Members who did not opt out 

of the case at the class certification stage were afforded a new opportunity to do so. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 

23(e)(4). Throughout the Term of the Settlement Agreement, Plaintiff Class Members are enjoined 

from asserting or prosecuting any claims that are released by the Settlement Agreement. 

12. The Settlement Agreement and this Order are not admissions of liability or fault by 

Defendants or other Released Parties, or a finding of the validity of any claims in this action or of any 

wrongdoing or violation of law by Defendants or other Released Parties. The Settlement Agreement is 

not a concession by the Parties and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, neither this Order, nor any of 

its terms or provisions, nor any of the negotiations connected with it, shall be offered as evidence or 

received in evidence in any pending or future civil, criminal, or administrative action or proceeding to 

establish any liability of, or admission by Defendants or other Released Parties. Notwithstanding the 

foregoing, nothing in this Order shall be interpreted to prohibit the use of this Order to consummate or 

enforce the Settlement Agreement or Order, or to defend against the assertion of Released Claims in 

any other proceeding, or as otherwise required by law. 

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[PROPOSED] FINAL ORDER APPROVING CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT & ENTERING FINAL JUDGMENT

CASE NO. 5:16-CV-07013-LHK (SVK) 783370.7 

13. Within 21 days after the distribution of the settlement funds and payment of attorneys’ 

fees, expenses and costs, the Parties are ordered to file a Post-Distribution Accounting, which provides 

the following information in accordance with the Northern District’s Procedural Guidance for Class 

Action Settlements: The total settlement fund, the total number of class members; the total number of 

class members to whom notice was sent and not returned as undeliverable; the number and percentage 

of claim forms submitted; the number and percentage of opt-outs; the number and percentage of 

objections; the average and median recovery per claimant; the largest and smallest amounts paid to 

class members; the method(s) of notice and the method(s) of payment to class members; the number 

and value of checks not cashed; the amounts distributed to each cy pres recipient; the administrative 

costs; the attorneys’ fees and costs; and the benefit conferred on the classes by the injunctive relief 

obtained. Within 21 days after the distribution of the settlement funds and award of attorneys’ fees, 

the Parties should post the Post-Distribution Accounting, including an easy-to-read chart that allows 

for quick comparisons with other cases, on the settlement website. The Court may hold a hearing 

following submission of the parties’ Post-Distribution Accounting. 

14. In accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement, the Court shall maintain 

continuing jurisdiction over Plaintiffs, the Class Members, Defendants, and the Settlement Agreement 

throughout the term of the Settlement Agreement, for the purpose of supervising the implementation, 

enforcement, construction, and interpretation of the Settlement Agreement and this Order, through the 

term of the Settlement Agreement. In that regard, any challenges to the Settlement Agreement’s terms 

or implementation, whether under state or federal law, shall be subject to the exclusive and continuing 

jurisdiction of this Court. 

15. This Action is hereby dismissed on the merits and with prejudice as to the Released 

Claims, without fees or costs to any Party except as otherwise provided in the Court’s Order on 

Plaintiffs’ Motion for Reasonable Attorneys’ Fees, Costs and Expenses, and the Settlement 

Agreement.. 

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[PROPOSED] FINAL ORDER APPROVING CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT & ENTERING FINAL JUDGMENT

CASE NO. 5:16-CV-07013-LHK (SVK) 783370.7 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: ________________________ _______________________________

HON. LUCY H. KOH 

United States District Judge 

Case 4:16-cv-07013-HSG Document 395-6 Filed 05/25/20 Page 8 of 8