Excerpt: ... 4, § E.) The phrase, “which arose during the Settlement Period” should be added at the end of the first sentence in § E (after the word, “lawsuit”). • The Notice has been streamlined. Typos and other errors have been corrected. However, § “D” was eliminated without changing the remaining paragraph – that is, the sections on pages 3‐4 are now numbered/lettered: A, B, C, E. • The Exclusion Form has been appropriately revised...

Excerpt: ... 7). The Notice also defines Galasso's Bakery twice. (Notice, p. 1 and 3.) Further, defined terms are not consistently capitalized (e.g., “Settlement,” “Class Counsel” and “Class Members”) and are not consistently used. The documents should be reviewed carefully in order to eliminate awkward syntax and correct typos. • CMO, § H(5)(c) – The Notice appropriately indicates where Class Members may find a copy of the Settlement; howev...

Excerpt: ...bol, which may be unfamiliar to Class Members. It also contains references to statutes like PAGA without explanation.) Also, the procedures for objecting are somewhat confusing in that the Objection Form appears to require the Class Members to mail the Form to counsel for both parties in addition to the Administrator, while the Settlement Agreement and Notice require that the Form be sent only to the Administrator who will be responsible for forw...

Excerpt: ...ers including the range. Counsel indicates that the total damages at trial s $5,952,391.70, broken down as follows: rounding ($52,514.82); meal breaks ($2,089,486.48); rest breaks ($771,704.80); wage statement ($948,000); waiting time ($632,985.60); and PAGA ($1,457,700). (Nourmond Decl. ¶8.) Counsel fails to comply with (b) as to reasonable damages. For the estimate recovery, counsel provides an average of $1,431.88, but fails to provide the ac...

Excerpt: ...eral punctuation errors).  The revised Proposed Order was submitted without the referenced exhibits in derogation of the CMO.  Paragraph 2(k) of the Proposed Order incorrectly refers to a “claims period.”  The motion should be simply styled, Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement.  The Settlement's use of Net Fund Value (“NFV”) as a defined term is confusing, especially as it is repeated in the Notice (§ D...

Excerpt: ...is no discussion in accordance with Paragraph E(4) with respect to the number of alleged aggrieved employees, the number of alleged violations or the total penalties for which Page 2 of 2 Defendants are potentially liable. Plaintiff is under the mistaken impression that he has not actually settled the PAGA action. However, he has agreed to accept a monetary payment for the release of his unpled individual causes of action, which necessarily precl...

Excerpt: ...that the recovery by the average Class Member is $511. (Supp. Solouki Decl., ¶ 17.) However, the calculation uses a Class Size of 148 instead of 135, which would result in an average recovery of $560.  CMO, § H(6) – The release to be given by Aggrieved Employees is inappropriate. (Settlement, ¶ 97.) While an Aggrieved Employee may be barred from asserting a PAGA cause of action based upon the alleged violations, an Aggrieved Employee who ...

Excerpt: ...e Hospital also requests judicial notice of the Statement of Facts Roster of Public Agencies Filings for the District and Articles of Incorporation for the Hospital. These documents may be judicially noticed pursuant to Evid. Code §452(c) because they are public records filed with the Secretary of State. (Cody F. v. Fattetti (2001) 92 Cal. App. 4th 1232, 1236, fn 2.) Finally, the Hospital requests judicial notice of the Audited Combined Financia...

Excerpt: ...19, does not address the concerns of the court which were identified in the minute order for the hearing on August 30, 2019. The court is inclined to grant the motion, but requires the following: 1. Section H.6.a of the CMO requires the release to be limited to “defendants named in the complaint, and their officers, directors, and managing agents.” The present release includes an entity (Amjee, Inc.) that was not named as a defendant. Plainti...

Excerpt: ...e plaintiff shall file a declaration authenticating a "redlined" version of any amended document, showing how the earlier version was modified. Page 2 of 5 Plaintiff shall correct the following: 1. The motion fails to comply with I.1.c of the CMO because the declarations of plaintiffs' attorneys fails to set forth the attorney's estimate of the total amount of damages, monetary penalties or other relief that the class could reasonably...

Excerpt: ... Esparza and that Zakaryan should not be followed because it has been taken up by the California Supreme Court. Further, under Mejia v. Merchants Building Maintenance, LLC (2019) 2019 Cal.App. LEXIS 743 the settlement distribution is improper. The court states: “[t]o the extent that the MBM defendants rely on the premise that ‘[t]he relief for unpaid wages under section 558 is payable 100% to the individual employee' for their contention that...

Excerpt: ...(F). The parties should strike/amend § VI(F).  CMO, § H(3)(d) – While counsel indicates that the flat fee to be charged by Simpluris is $7,500, the Settlement and Notice indicate that the fee will be $9,500. Potter, Decl., ¶¶ 55; Settlement, § IX(A)(1); Notice p. 4 (item 6). Further, while Bui indicates that, based upon estimated costs of $8,574, Simpluris has agreed to a flat fee of $7,500, the written estimate included with the Bui De...

Excerpt: ...s prior to the continued hearing date. Plaintiff shall obtain from defendant a supplemental declaration regarding the financial condition of defendant, with supporting documentation and additional detail, which demonstrates the necessity for a five‐year payment plan. The declarations of plaintiff's Page 2 of 3 counsel and the CEO of the defendant corporation are insufficient. In addition, plaintiff shall correct the following: 1. The declaratio...

Excerpt: ...to what other supervisors knew); Greg Ayon – 8, 18 and 21 (as to other employees); Vincent Ball – 1‐ 3, 6 and 17 (as to other employees); Micaiah Barber – 7, 16 and 19 (as to other employees); Travis Booth – none; Nicholas Bouzikian – 8 and 14; Daniel Cerda – 10; Dejuanne Davis – 1, 4‐5, 8 and 14 (as to other employees); Ericka Eisenman – 3 (as to other employees) and 8; Ollie Ervin – 12, 20, and 23 (as to what other employe...

Excerpt: ...d, Plaintiff argues in its Supplemental Brief that it is the intent of the parties to release only the claims based upon the facts in the Complaint. Notwithstanding the parties' intent, the language is arguably much broader. If the following phrase is excised from the definition of Settled Claims (¶ 27), it would remedy the issue: “and were or could have been alleged as separate claims, causes of action, lawsuits, or other theories of relief.�...

Excerpt: ...ameters set forth in § E(5)(a) of the CMO, as set forth in the court's prior tentative decision.  CMO, § E(2) – While defense counsel indicates that he is unaware of any other class or representative action that asserts claims similar to those in the present case, he does not indicate that he made a reasonable inquiry of other members of his firm.  CMO, § E(5)(a) – the definition of Released Parties in the Settlement (and repeated in...

Excerpt: ...in the LWDA Notice and appears to bind all Aggrieved Employees rather than only Plaintiff and the State of California. The Release also attempts to apply a 1542 Waiver to all unnamed Aggrieved Employees and bar the Aggrieved Employees from suing the Released Parties. It is also not clear whether the enforcement provision applies to the Aggrieved Employees. The motion does not explain why the Aggrieved Employees will not be Page 2 of 2 prejudiced ...

Excerpt: ... named Defendant. Released Parties included GS Motorcars, Inc., Norman Automotive, Inc., Gosch Toyota, and Gosch Towing & Recovery, LLC, which are apparently sister corporations. (Gosch Decl, ¶4.) However, Defendant does not explain why releasing these additional parties is proper. Furthermore, because Parties is defined to include the Aggrieved Employees, the enforcement provision is overly broad as it would subject unnamed Aggrieved Employees ...

Excerpt: ...y, LLC v. Goldman (2011) 51 Cal.4th 811, 821. County has failed to meet its initial burden because it does not prove each element of its breach of contract claim. Although, evidence of a contract has been provided, the County does not address and provides no evidence that it performed its obligations under the Deferral Agreement, or were excused from performance. Further, while County cites to persuasive authority, it fails to set forth the amoun...

Excerpt: ...d discrimination and is therefore unable to establish a prima facie claim of discrimination.  Second COA (FEHA Harassment): The alleged incidents of harassment were not “sufficiently pervasive” to alter the conditions of Plaintiff's employment and create an abusive working environment.  Third COA (Failure to Prevent Discrimination/Harassment): There can be no failure to prevent discrimination or harassment if there are no successful dis...

Excerpt: ...action in April through August 2014, culminating in a demotion from supervisor to staff psychiatrist. The first amended complaint alleged that as a result of the retaliation, plaintiff went on medical leave for elevated blood pressure due to workplace‐induced stress. Plaintiff also alleged that on October 25, 2015, he sought accommodation in order to return to work, but his request was rejected on October 27, 2015. Defendants argued in their de...

Excerpt: ...nts are “true and correct to the best of [his] knowledge” does not comply with CCP § 2015.5. The document demands set forth in the Subpoena seek information concerning Kubski Group, LLC and do not implicate Schmaltz's personal privacy rights. Moreover, to the extent that the demands infringe upon Kubski's limited privacy rights, the discovery's relevance outweighs any limited right of privacy possessed by Kubski. Further, even assuming that ...

Excerpt: ...merely was not satisfied with the terms. (FAC ¶18‐19.) There is no material violation even if no contact was provided since he was provided with the offer. He alleges nothing more such as how there was a violation. Furthermore, Plaintiff has not alleged that foreclosure proceedings have occurred. At this point, there is nothing to enjoin. Plaintiff has not demonstrated he is entitled to the remedy since there is no foreclosure. 2nd Cause of Ac...

Excerpt: ...g the property “as is.” The settlement is for $20,000.00, which is between 20% to 25% of the total amount of damages claimed by Plaintiffs. Carranza contends that Settling Defendants were aware of an inspection report that Arthur had obtained regarding the property four years before it was sold to Plaintiffs, and failed to provide said report to Plaintiffs until after the home was purchased. However, Carranza has failed to cite to any authori...

Excerpt: ...copy of the email message attached to Plaintiff's RFP as Exhibit 2, Mario Burger sent the original email directly to Defendant, who, in turn, forwarded the email to his attorney. Second, the email was in fact produced after Plaintiff filed the present motion, despite Defendant's statement that he did not have possession or control of the email. Based upon those facts, it is clear that Defendant's response to the RFP was patently frivolous (as was...