2015-00184056-CU-OE

Jerry Williams vs. Sacramento Container Corporation

Nature of Proceeding: Motion for Approval of Private Attorneys General Act

Filed By: Aiwazian, Edwin

APPEARANCE REQUIRED.

The proposed settlement includes several payments of “up to” a particular amount, e.g., a total settlement fund of up to $750,000, Plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees up to $292,500 and litigation costs up to $30,000. At the time of hearing, Plaintiffs’ counsel shall discuss whether all such amounts have been fixed or, if not, the factors impacting the amounts that will actually be paid.

Subject to the above, the court intends to grant the motion as follows:

The motion for approval of the settlement of Plaintiffs’ complaint under the PAGA, Labor Code §§ 2698 et seq., is UNOPPOSED and GRANTED.

Preliminarily, the court notes that the captions on the moving papers indicate this case is a class action. These indications appear to be erroneous, and the court disregards them.

The plaintiffs are Jerry Williams and Nathan Cisneros (collectively “Plaintiffs”). In their complaint, Plaintiffs allege that they served Defendant Sacramento Container Corporation (SCC) as hourly, non-exempt employees. According to Plaintiffs, SCC failed to compensate them for all hours worked (regular work hours and overtime hours) as well as for missed meal breaks and missed rest breaks; that SCC failed to pay wages timely; that SCC failed to provide accurate wage statement or maintain accurate payroll records; and that SCC failed to reimburse employees for business expenses.

Plaintiffs filed this action for wages and civil penalties on behalf of themselves and SCC’s other aggrieved hourly, non-exempt employees working in California between August 2014 and May 2017. (There are approximately 452 such employees.) The parties settled after mediation and discovery. Labor Code § 2699, subd. (i) requires the court to “review and approve” the settlement.

The court find that (1) Plaintiffs notified the LWDA pursuant to Labor Code § 2699.3(a),

(2) Plaintiffs served the LWDA with a copy of the proposed settlement pursuant to § 2699(l)(2), and (3) the portion of the settlement reflecting PAGA penalties is correctly distributed 75% to the LWD and 25% to the aggrieved employees pursuant to § 2699
(i).

The court approves the other terms of settlement: (1) a maximum settlement fund of $750,000 that includes (a) $10,000 for a settlement administrator, (b) $292,500 for Plaintiffs’ counsel’s fees, (c) $30,000 for litigation costs incurred, (d) one $10,000 premium payment for each plaintiff, (e) $100,000 to be distributed pro rata to all the aggrieved employees (including Plaintiffs) for unpaid wages, (f) $74,375 to be distributed to all aggrieved employees (including Plaintiffs) as civil penalties, and (g) $223,125 to the LWDA as civil penalties. The court also approves the use of a cover letter to accompany distributions to aggrieved employees.

The court will sign the order submitted but will delete the words “Class Action” on the caption.