Dyer v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

303 F.R.D. 326, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150129, 2014 WL 5369395
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedOctober 22, 2014
DocketCase No. 13-cv-02858-JST
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 303 F.R.D. 326 (Dyer v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dyer v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 303 F.R.D. 326, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150129, 2014 WL 5369395 (N.D. Cal. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND ENHANCEMENT AWARDS

Re: ECF Nos. 43, 44

JON S. TIGAR, United States District Judge

Two motions are now pending in this putative class action for breach of contract and related claims. First, Plaintiffs Bobbie Pacheco Dyer and Patricia Stallworth move for an order granting final approval of the parties’ settlement agreement. ECF No. 44. No one has objected to the settlement. Second, Plaintiffs move for an award of attorneys’ fees, litigation costs, and a service enhancement award to Ms. Dyer and Ms. Stallworth as class representatives. ECF No. 43. The Court held a final fairness hearing on August 28, 2014.

For the reasons set forth below, the Court will GRANT the motion for final approval of the settlement, GRANT the request for an award of attorneys’ fees, and APPROVE the award of modified service enhancement awards to Ms. Dyer and Ms. Stallworth. The Court will DENY WITHOUT PREJUDICE the request for costs.

I. BACKGROUND

This is a class action brought on behalf of Plaintiffs and all other Producing Branch Sales Managers or Home Mortgage Consultants employed by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage during the class period. ECF Nos. 1, 27. Plaintiffs seek compensation for unpaid commissions Wells Fargo allegedly failed to pay in violation of its compensation plans. ECF No. 27 at 2. A more detailed description of the facts and claims at issue in this action, as well as the action’s procedural history, can be found in the Court’s May 12, 2014 order, ECF No. 41.

By order dated May 12, 2014, the Court (1) granted preliminary approval of the parties’ proposed settlement agreement and conditionally certified the putative class for settlement purposes; (2) appointed Plaintiffs Dyer and Stallworth as class representatives; (3) appointed John Yanehunis as lead class counsel and the remaining Plaintiffs’ counsel as class counsel; and (4) approved the parties’ proposed notice and claim form.

A. Settlement Agreement

The settlement agreement defines a class of

All home mortgage employees of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. who were paid 43 basis points (“bps”), but who otherwise would have been paid standard commission rates, for originating Wells Fargo to Wells Fargo specialty refinance loans under the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), Freddie Mac to Freddie Mae Relief, and Fannie Mae to Fannie Mae Refi Plus programs, from April 1, 2011 to January 1, 2013, excluding all employee and partner referral loans.

ECF No. 35 at 11.

Pursuant to the agreement, Wells Fargo will create a settlement fund of $14,743,101, which represents 32.7% of the amount Plaintiffs allege the class would be entitled to if Plaintiffs prevailed at trial. Id. at 12. The share of the fund belonging to class members who opt out of the class will revert to Wells Fargo.1 Id. Plaintiffs will release Wells [330]*330Fargo from all claims arising from the factual allegations in the complaint. ECF No. 35-1, ¶¶ 6-7, 26.

Further, Wells Fargo will pay the employer’s portion of payroll taxes resulting from payments to class members; payroll taxes will not be deducted from the settlement fund. ECF No. 35 at 12. Wells Fargo “is also separately responsible for payment of the costs of notice to the class and administration of the settlement.”2 Id. Plaintiffs also seek an award of attorneys’ fees in the amount of 25% of the settlement fund. Id. Lastly, Plaintiffs request incentive awards of $15,000 each for Ms. Dyer and Ms. Stall-worth, which Wells Fargo would pay apart from the settlement fund. Id. at 12-13.

B. Jurisdiction

The Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.Code § 1332(d).

II. FINAL APPROVAL OF THE SETTLEMENT

A. Legal Standard

“The claims, issues, or defenses of a certified class may be settled ... only with the court’s approval.” Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 23(e). “Adequate notice is critical to court approval of a class settlement under Rule 23(e).” Hanlon v. Chrysler Corp., 150 F.3d 1011, 1025 (9th Cir.1998). In addition, Rule 23(e) “requires the district court to determine whether a proposed settlement is fundamentally fair, adequate, and reasonable.” Id. at 1026. In order to assess a settlement proposal, the district court must

balance a number of factors: the strength of the plaintiffs’ case; the risk, expense, complexity, and likely duration of further litigation; the risk of maintaining class action status throughout the trial; the amount offered in settlement; the extent of discovery completed and the stage of the proceedings; the experience and views of counsel; the presence of a governmental participant; and the reaction of the class members to the proposed settlement.

Id.

B. Analysis

As discussed below, the Court finds that the proposed settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable, and that class members received adequate notice.

1. Adequacy of notice

“The class must be notified of a proposed settlement in a manner that does not systematically leave any group without notice.” Officers for Justice v. Civil Serv. Comm’n of City & Cnty. of S.F., 688 F.2d 615, 624 (9th Cir.1982) (citation omitted).

The Court previously approved the parties’ proposed plan for providing notice to the class. ECF No. 41 at 10-11. The parties have shown that the class administrator has fulfilled the notice plan by preparing the class list, mailing notice to class members via first class mail, and performing address traces to re-mail the notice to class members whose mail was returned undeliverable. ECF No. 44-2, ¶¶ 7, 9-10. Only thirty-three (.38%) of direct notices were returned a second time and remained undeliverable due to the inability to identify a current address. Id. ¶ 10. As provided in the notice, lead class counsel posted on its website the parties’ Joint Stipulation of Settlement and Release and other informational materials, such as court documents and answers to frequently asked questions. ECF No. 44 at 11. In [331]*331light of the foregoing, the Court finds that the parties have sufficiently provided the best practicable notice to class members. See Boring v. Bed Bath & Beyond, No. 12-CV-05259-JST, 2014 WL 2967474, at *1 (N.D.Cal. June 30, 2014) (finding adequate notice where parties implemented approved notice plan and only “twenty-seven of the 1,374 class notices were returned undeliverable after a second attempt and a skip trace.”).

2. Fairness, adequacy, and reasonableness

a. Strength of Plaintiffs’ case

Approval of a class settlement is appropriate when plaintiffs must overcome significant barriers to make their case. Chun-Hoon v. McKee Foods Corp., 716 F.Supp.2d 848, 851 (N.D.Cal.2010).

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303 F.R.D. 326, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150129, 2014 WL 5369395, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dyer-v-wells-fargo-bank-na-cand-2014.