Boone v. Amazon Services, LLC

District Court, E.D. California·Decided November 7, 2024·No. 1:21-cv-00241·Unknown

Opinion

HEATHER BOONE, et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-00241-KES-BAM Plaintiffs, Member Case: No. 1:22-cv-00146-NODJ-BAM v. ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF Defendant. (Doc. 108) Currently pending before the Court is the motion for final approval of class action settlement filed by Plaintiffs Heather Boone, Roxanne Rivera, and Cristian Barrera on October 1, 2024. (Doc. 108.) Defendant Amazon.com Services, LLC filed a statement of non-opposition. (Doc. 109.) The motion was submitted for decision to the assigned Magistrate Judge following the stipulation and consent of the parties. (Docs. 90, 91.) Also pending before the Court is Plaintiffs’ motion for attorneys’ fees, litigation costs, and service awards filed on October 25, 2024. (Doc.113.) A hearing on the motions was held via Zoom video conference on October 29, 2024, before the Honorable Barbara A. McAuliffe. Counsel Don Foty and James De Sario appeared by Zoom video on behalf of Plaintiffs Heather Boone, Roxanne Rivera, and Cristian Barrera. Counsel Bradley Hamburger and Andrew Kilburg appeared by Zoom video on behalf of Defendant Amazon.com Services, LLC. Having considered the briefing and record in this case, Plaintiffs’ motion for final approval of the class action settlement will be granted. Additionally, Plaintiffs’ motion for attorneys’ fees, costs, and class representative service awards will be granted. Attorneys’ fees will be awarded to Class Counsel in the amount of $1,833,333.33, litigation costs will be awarded in the amount of $69,881.64, and class representative enhancement payments will be awarded in the total amount of $30,000.00. A. Relevant Procedural History This is a class and collective action initially brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and California law. On February 23, 2021, Plaintiffs Heather Boone and Roxanne Rivera filed their complaint against Amazon.com Services, LLC (“Amazon”). Plaintiffs alleged that Amazon implemented an illegal policy requiring its non-exempt workers to undergo a COVID-19 screening each shift without pay. Plaintiffs claimed this examination constituted compensable time and they therefore forwarded claims for (1) violations of the California Labor Code for failure to pay for all hours worked, failure to pay overtime, failure to furnish timely, accurate, itemized wage statements, and failure to pay all wages upon separation, (2) violation of California’s Unlawful/Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), and (3) and failure to pay overtime under the FLSA. (Doc. 1.) Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint on May 14, 2021. (Doc. 23.) Thereafter, Plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint on January 14, 2022, which added a representative claim under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). (Doc. 36.) On March 11, 2022, the district court dismissed Plaintiffs’ claim for violation of the UCL with leave to amend, but denied the motion to dismiss in all other respects. (Doc. 39.) Following Plaintiffs’ notice that they did not intend to file a third amended complaint, Amazon answered the Second Amended Complaint on April 11, 2022. (Doc. 43.) Amazon also filed a motion for certificate of appealability regarding the FLSA claim, which had not been dismissed by the district court. (Doc. 44.) On March 10, 2023, Plaintiffs filed a motion for appointment of the law office of Hodges & Foty, LLP as interim class counsel. (Doc. 62.) Plaintiffs indicated that ten months after filing this lawsuit, another law firm filed a similar action seeking to represent the same class for the same claims in the matter of Barrera v. Amazon.cm Services, LLC, No. 1:22-cv-0146-ADA- BAM. The Court required Plaintiffs to provide notice of the motion to counsel in the Barrera matter and required the parties to address why the actions should not be consolidated. (Doc. 64.) On May 8, 2023, pursuant to the stipulation of the relevant parties, the district court consolidated the Barrera matter with this action.1 (Doc. 70.) On August 22, 2023, the parties filed a notice of settlement. (Doc. 76.) Thereafter, the Court set a deadline for filing dispositional papers and vacated all other dates and matters. (Doc. 77.) On October 18, 2023, the district court appointed Hodges & Foty, LLP as interim class counsel. (Doc. 80.) On February 16, 2024, with Amazon’s consent, Plaintiffs Boone, Rivera, and Cristian Barrera filed a Third Amended Complaint, which removed their collective action claims brought under the FLSA. (Doc. 88.) B. Events Leading to Settlement On April 6, 2023, the parties attended a full-day mediation with Lisa Klerman, a well- regarded mediator who has mediated hundreds of class action cases involving claims under the California Labor Code. (Doc. 108 at 10.) The mediation was unsuccessful, but the parties continued to negotiate with the assistance of Ms. Klerman. The process culminated in a settlement at the end of August 2023. (Id.) 1. Settlement of Class Claims Plaintiffs negotiated the settlement of behalf of all current and former non-exempt employees of Amazon in California who underwent one or more COVID-19 temperature screenings during the Class Period. (Doc. 108-1, Ex. 1, Class Action Settlement and Release 1 On June 6, 2023, the parties filed a stipulation that Amazon’s motion to dismiss (or in the alternative stay) Barrera was moot and that Amazon had preserved all its issues raised in that motion. (Doc. 75.) (“SA” or “Settlement Agreement”) ¶ 39.) Plaintiffs also negotiated a settlement on behalf of non-California FLSA opt-in plaintiffs—Taylor Bouie, Camryn McSweeney, Omar Ramirez Vasquez, and George Werito— related to allegations of the failure to pay overtime in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. (SA ¶¶ 15, 20.) Further, Plaintiffs negotiated a settlement of the PAGA claims on behalf of all non- exempt employees of Amazon in California during the relevant PAGA period who underwent one or more COVID-19 temperature screenings. (SA at 5 and ¶¶ 25, 26.) 2. Other Related Cases Plaintiff Barrera also has a separate action under PAGA pending in Orange County Superior Court, based on the same allegations: Barrera v. Amazon.com Services LLC (Orange County Sup. Ct. Case No. 30-2022-01242167-CU-OE-CXC). (Doc. 108 at 9.) As part of the settlement, the parties have agreed that the Barrera state court action will be dismissed with prejudice within fourteen days after entry of a final order approving the Settlement Agreement. They also will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the state court action remains stayed pending approval of the settlement agreement. (SA ¶ 81.) C. Summary of Settlement Terms 1. Settlement Class The settlement class is defined as follows:

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