Raniere v. Citigroup Inc.

310 F.R.D. 211, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131578, 2015 WL 5724669
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 29, 2015
DocketNo. 11 Civ. 2448(RWS)
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 310 F.R.D. 211 (Raniere v. Citigroup Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Raniere v. Citigroup Inc., 310 F.R.D. 211, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131578, 2015 WL 5724669 (S.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

SWEET, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Tara Raniere, Nichol Bodden, Mark A. Vosburgh, Steven Humphries, Mary Lara, and Bill Farmer (the “Named Plaintiffs”) have moved on behalf of the proposed Settlement Class (collectively with the Named Plaintiffs, the “Plaintiffs”) for final approval of a proposed settlement with Defendants Citigroup, Inc., Citibank, N.A., and CitiMortgage, Inc. (collectively, “Citi” or the “Defendants”) and for class certification for settlement purposes, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). Class Counsel, Wigdor LLP, has separately moved for an order approving a grant of attorney’s fees and expenses. For the reasons stated below, both motions are granted.

Background and Prior Proceedings

Plaintiffs Raniere, Bodden, and Vosburgh initiated this action on April 8, 2011, alleging that they had been deprived of overtime pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. (the “FLSA”), and New York Labor Law § 190 et seq. (the [216]*216“NYLL”).1 (See generally Complaint, Dkt. No. 1.) Three major motions followed: Citi moved to dismiss the action on the basis of the “first filed rule,” arguing that another previously-filed action preempted this one (Dkt. Nos. 11-13); Citi moved to compel arbitration with Plaintiffs Raniere and Bod-den, arguing that they were covered by an arbitration provision that prevented them from filing the instant action (Dkt. Nos. 26-28); and the Named Plaintiffs moved for class certification (Dkt. Nos. 16-24). By Order dated November 22, 2011, the Court denied the motion to dismiss, granted conditional class certification, and denied the motion to compel arbitration. Raniere v. Citigroup Inc., 827 F.Supp.2d 294 (S.D.N.Y.2011). Afterward, Class Counsel sent out notices of pendency to potential class members. (Declaration of David Gottlieb, Dkt. No. 159 (the “Gottlieb Decl.”)), ¶ 16. 85 individuals opted in; together with the three original Named Plaintiffs and eight conditional pre-certification opt-ins, the total number of plaintiffs rose to 96. Id.

During the opt-in period, Citi appealed the denial of the motion to compel arbitration. The Second Circuit reversed in a summary order dated August 12, 2013, remanding for further proceedings. Raniere v. Citigroup Inc., 533 Fed.Appx. 11 (2d Cir.2013). The Plaintiffs sought rehearing en banc, while 25 plaintiffs filed individual arbitrations after the Second Circuit opinion was issued. (See Gottlieb Decl. ¶21.) In or around September, 2013, the parties agreed to attempt mediation and requested a stay. On February 10, 2014, the parties met for a mediation session, and reached a settlement in principle. (Gottlieb Decl. ¶ 24.)

The parties later executed a full settlement agreement. Briefly summarized, in exchange for a release, Citi agrees to pay a maximum amount of $4,650,000, which is distributed among 1) the class based on an allocation formula that takes into account various individual factors, including the state in which each class member worked and its applicable limitations period; 2) class counsel, who will receive fees and be reimbursed for expenses; 3) the Named Plaintiffs and Opt-in Plaintiff Alison Singer, who will receive service awards; 4) the Garden City Group, to cover the costs of administering the settlement; and 5) a Reserve Fund of $80,000 for class members who file late claims and other miscellaneous events. {See generally Stipulation and Settlement Agreement, Dkt. No. 159-8 (the “Settlement Agreement”) § 2.) Any amount of the settlement that is not claimed by members of the Settlement Class reverts back to Citi. {Id. § 2.7.2.) Eligible class members would include any individual who worked for Citi as a Home Lending Specialist in the years leading up to 2013, with the amount of time covered depending on the state in which the worker was employed. {Id. § 1.34.) Citi denies all wrongdoing or liability. {Id. at 3-4.)

Certification of the Settlement Class and Appointment of the Class Representatives and Class Counsel

As part of the Settlement Agreement, the parties have stipulated to class certification pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23. (Settlement Agreement § 2.1.) Rule 23(a) includes four requirements, numerosity, commonality, typlicality, and adequacy, each of which are present here. In the Second Circuit, numerosity is presumed at 40 class members, Consol. Rail Corp. v. Town of Hyde Park, 47 F.3d 473, 483 (1995), and the number here is well above that. There are also common questions of fact or law that apply to the class, including whether the class was subject to the overtime laws, whether Citi paid them appropriately, and whether Citi had some sort of companywide policy resulting in their underpayment. Similarly, the typicality requirement is satisfied in that each class member’s claim arises from the same course of events — Citi’s alleged policy of mischaracterizing employees in order to avoid paying overtime — and is based on similar legal arguments. See Shahriar v. Smith & Wollensky Rest. Grp., Inc., 659 F.3d 234, 252 (2d Cir.2011) (citing Robidoux v. Celani, 987 F.2d 931, 936 (2d Cir.1993)). As to whether the “representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of [217]*217the class,” as required by Rule 23(a)(4), the Named Plaintiffs have fully prosecuted the action thus far, obtained a significant settlement, and have no known conflicts with any class member. See Shahriar, 659 F.3d at 253. Thus, the requirements of Rule 23(a) are satisfied.

Certification is also appropriate under Rule 23(b)(3) because common questions of law or fact predominate — in particular whether‘the class members were entitled to overtime under the FLSA and NYLL and whether Citi had a companywide policy to deprive them of overtime pay in spite of those laws — and because a vigorously-prosecuted class action is a superior alternative to each of the plaintiffs individually taking on Citi, one of the world’s largest and most powerful financial institutions. See Shahriar, 659 F.3d at 253 (upholding district court’s decision that elasswide issues predominated in a FLSA case regarding company pay policies); Lizondro-Garcia v. Kefi LLC, 300 F.R.D. 169, 177 (S.D.N.Y.2014) (finding FLSA class action to be a superior method where employer had greater financial capacity than employees, and where dealing with all plaintiffs’ allegations together would conserve judicial resources).

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310 F.R.D. 211, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131578, 2015 WL 5724669, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/raniere-v-citigroup-inc-nysd-2015.