Cox v. Clarus Marketing Group, LLC

291 F.R.D. 473, 2013 WL 1797028, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60941
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedApril 29, 2013
DocketNo. 11-CV-2711 H(RBB)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 291 F.R.D. 473 (Cox v. Clarus Marketing Group, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cox v. Clarus Marketing Group, LLC, 291 F.R.D. 473, 2013 WL 1797028, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60941 (S.D. Cal. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER:

1. Certifying a Class and Subclass for Purposes of Settlement;

2. Granting Final Approval of the Proposed Settlement;

3. Approving the Requested Award of Attorneys’ Fees and Costs; and

4. Approving the Requested Incentive Awards for Plaintiffs Cox, Hall,

and Lynch.

MARILYN L. HUFF, District Judge.

On November 20, 2012, the Court issued an order preliminarily certifying a class and subclass for settlement purposes, granting preliminary approval of the parties’ proposed settlement, appointing class representatives and class counsel, approving class notice, and scheduling a final fairness hearing for April 29, 2013. (Doc. No. 27.) On March 13, 2013, Plaintiffs Daniel Cox, Joseph M. Lynch, and Nicole Hall filed a motion for approval of an attorney award of $640,000 and incentive awards for the class representatives of $5,000 each. (Doe. No. 30-1.) On April 2, 2013, Plaintiffs filed a motion for final approval of the proposed settlement and a final certification of a nationwide settlement class and subclass. (Doc. No. 33-1.) Defendants Cla-ras Marketing Group LLC (“CMG”) and Provide-Commerce filed notices of non-opposition to Plaintiffs’ final approval motion, (Doe. No. 34,) and no proposed class members have filed objections to the proposed settlement. The Court held a final fairness hearing on April 29, 2013. Attorneys Alisa Martin and Timothy Fisher appeared on behalf of Plaintiffs; attorneys Leo Norton and Blake Bilstad appeared on behalf of Defendants. No objections were raised to the proposed class settlement, attorney fee award, or incentive award at the hearing.

Background

A. Facts

This case arises out of Defendants’ allegedly unfair and unlawful offer for “free shipping” to online customers shopping on websites owned and operated by Provide Commerce, Inc. (“Provide Commerce”). Plaintiffs allege that while completing their online purchases on Provide Commerce’s website ProFlowers.com, a pop-up window was generated containing a coupon offer for free shipping. (Doc. No. 1, “Compl.” ¶ 17.) Upon clicking the pop-up window, Plaintiffs allege they were directed to an interface operated by Claras Marketing Group, LLC (“CMG”) and presented with an offer for free shipping on their current transaction, plus free shipping rebates on twelve future orders from ProFlowers.com. Id. To accept the offer, Plaintiffs allege that they were asked to enter their email address and zip code. Id. Plaintiffs allege that they were never informed that by accepting the offer, they were authorizing CMG to enroll them in CMG’s membership programs, FreeShipping.com Insider’s Club or FreeShipping.com (“FreeShipping.com”). Id. Plaintiffs allege that as members of FreeShipping.com, they were charged a monthly fee between $9 and $20. (Id. ¶ 1.) Plaintiffs allege that they did not supply CMG with their private payment information. (Id. ¶¶ 17, 25.) Rather, Plaintiffs allege that Provide Commerce provided their information to CMG without their knowledge or consent. Id.

B. Procedural History

On February 16, 2011, Plaintiff Daniel Cox and then-plaintiff Bradley Berentson commenced a civil action in the Northern District of California. Daniel Cox, et al. v. Clarus Marketing Group, LLC, et al., No. 11-cv-[477]*4770729 (DMR). On March 24, 2011, the ease was reassigned to the Honorable Saundra Brown Armstrong. (Doc. No. 23-2, “Proposed Settlement,” ¶ A.)

On March 29, 2011, then-plaintiffs Mark McKnight and James Wilson filed a civil action in the Northern District of California. Mark McKnight, et al. v. Clarus Marketing Group, LLC, et al, No. 11-cv-1501 (MEJ). On April 8, 2011, the case was reassigned to Judge Armstrong. (Proposed Settlement ¶B.)

On April 8, 2011, Plaintiff Nicole Hall filed a civil action in the Northern District of California. Nicole Hall v. Clarus Marketing Group, LLC, et al, No. 11-cv-1757 (LB). On May 2, 2011, the case was reassigned to Judge Armstrong. (Proposed Settlement ¶0.)

On April 20, 2011, Plaintiff Hall and then-plaintiffs McKnight and Wilson filed a motion to consolidate the Cox, McKnight, and Hall actions. (Proposed Settlement ¶ D.)

On April 29, 2011, Plaintiff Joseph Lynch filed a civil action in the Southern District of California. Joseph M. Lynch v. Clarus Marketing Group, LLC, et al., No. 11-cv-0913 (BEN); (Proposed Settlement ¶ E.)

On May 4, 2011, Plaintiff Lynch filed a notice of voluntary dismissal. (Proposed Settlement ¶ F.) On May 19, 2011, Plaintiff Cox filed an amended complaint adding Plaintiff Lynch as a new plaintiff and dropping then-plaintiff Berentson. (Proposed Settlement 1IG.)

Then-plaintiffs Wilson and McKnight and Plaintiff Hall filed notices of voluntary dismissal of their respective actions. (Proposed Settlement ¶¶ H-J.) On November 14, 2011, Plaintiffs Cox and Lynch filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of the Cox action. (Proposed Settlement ¶ K.)

On November 18, 2011, Plaintiffs filed this action, a putative class action against Defendants CMG and Provide Commerce, asserting causes of action against one or both Defendants for (1) RICO violations, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(e); (2) violations of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1693; (3) declaratory relief; (4) conversion; (5) negligence; (6) invasion of privacy under the California Constitution; (7) invasion of privacy; (8) violations of the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Cal. Civ.Code § 1770(a); (9)-(10) unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business practices in violation of Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code § 17200; (11) violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act; and (12) violation of the Michigan Compiled Laws § 600.2919a. (See generally Compl.)

Shortly thereafter, Plaintiffs requested that Defendants provide discovery materials, including documents relating to insurance agreements and data concerning class size and revenues generated by Defendants’ practices. (Doc. No. 23-1, “Patterson Deck,” ¶ 7.) Defendants responded to Plaintiffs’ discovery requests by producing certain documents on November 22, 2011. Id. On April 10, 2012, the parties participated in a daylong mediation session before an experienced mediator. (Id. ¶¶ 2-3.) With the mediator’s assistance, the parties reached a settlement in principle. Id. On May 25, 2012, Provide Commerce and CMG filed separate answers to the complaint, in which they denied Plaintiffs’ allegations and raised various defenses. (Doc. Nos. 13, 14.) On October 2, 2012, the parties entered into a Proposed Settlement. (Patterson Deck ¶ 4; Proposed Settlement.)

C. Proposed Settlement

The Proposed Settlement provides relief to a proposed class comprising all persons who, between February 16, 2007 and the date of the Court’s order granting preliminary approval, placed an order on a website operated by Provide Commerce and were subsequently enrolled in FreeShipping.com’s Insider’s Club or FreeShipping.com.

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Bluebook (online)
291 F.R.D. 473, 2013 WL 1797028, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60941, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cox-v-clarus-marketing-group-llc-casd-2013.