Siqueiros v. General Motors LLC

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 GABRIEL DEL VALLE, et al., Case No. 16-cv-07244-EMC

8 Plaintiffs, ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY 9 v. APPROVAL OF CLASS SETTLEMENT

10 GENERAL MOTORS LLC, Docket Nos. 654, 655, 704, 694, 713 11 Defendants.

12 13 Before the Court is Plaintiff’s unopposed Motion to approve the proposed Settlement, plan 14 of allocation, and the form and manner of notice, certify the proposed Class for settlement, direct 15 notice to the Class under Rule 23(e), and schedule a final approval hearing at which the Court will 16 consider final approval of the Settlement, final approval of the plan of allocation, and Class 17 Counsel’s motion for fees, costs, and service awards in this action. Docket No. 713. The terms of 18 Plaintiff’s proposed Settlement are set forth in a Settlement Agreement with the accompanying 19 exhibits (the “Agreement”).1 The Parties reached the Settlement through arm’s-length negotiations 20 over a period of approximately four months, and, on January 22, 2025, participated in an all-day in 21 person mediation with Antonio Piazza of Mediated Negotiations, Inc. Under the Settlement 22 Agreement, the Action will be dismissed with prejudice, and Class Plaintiffs and the Classes will 23 discharge and release their claims against the Released Parties in exchange for GM’s agreement to 24 pay the non-reversionary cash Settlement Amount of One Hundred Fifty Million Dollars 25 ($150,000,000.00) into the Settlement Fund to be distributed to Class Members in accordance with 26 the Settlement Agreement. Plaintiff’s Motion is GRANTED. 27 1 I. CLASS CERTIFICATION AND 2 APPOINTMENT OF CLASS PLAINTIFFS AND CLASS COUNSEL 3 At the preliminary approval stage, “[i]f the court has already certified a class, the only 4 information ordinarily necessary is whether the proposed settlement calls for any change in the 5 class certified, or of the claims, defenses, or issues regarding which certification was granted.” 6 Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, advisory committee notes to 2018 Amendment. Here, the Court has already 7 certified the California, Idaho, and North Carolina Classes. ECF Nos. 237, 320, and 633. The 8 proposed Settlement does not call for any changes to these Classes, or of the claims, defenses, or 9 issues regarding which certification was granted. Therefore, for the same reasons identified in the 10 Court's certification orders, the certified Classes satisfy adequacy, typicality, numerosity, and 11 commonality under Rule 23(a) and predominance and superiority Rule 23(b)(3). See, e.g., In re 12 Lyft, Inc. Sec. Litig., 2022 WL 17740302, at *3 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 16, 2022) (finding no reason to 13 revisit a prior certification order a preliminary settlement approval where the proposed settlement 14 class was identical to that already certified). The Court, therefore, confirms the following certified 15 Classes for settlement purposes: All current owners or lessees of a Class Vehicle that was purchased or leased in new 16 condition in the State of California as of May 23, 2022 (the “California Class”). 17 All current owners or lessees of a Class Vehicle that was purchased or leased from a 18 GM-authorized dealer in the State of Idaho as of May 23, 2022 (the “Idaho Class”). 19 All current owners or lessees of a Class Vehicle that was purchased or leased in the State of North Carolina as of May 23, 2022 (the “North Carolina Class”). 20 Excluded from the Classes are: GM; any affiliate, parent, or subsidiary of GM; any 21 entity in which GM has a controlling interest; any officer, director, or employee of GM; any successor or assign of GM; and any judge to whom this Action is assigned, 22 and his or her spouse; individuals and/or entities who validly and timely opted-out 23 of the previously certified classes following the Notice of Pendency of Class Action issued in this litigation on or about May 23, 2022; and current or former owners of a 24 Class Vehicle who previously released claims in an individual settlement with GM that would otherwise be covered by the Release in this Action. 25 “Class Vehicles” means all 2011-2014 Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado, Suburban, and Tahoe, and 26 2011-2014 GMC Sierra, Yukon, and Yukon XL trucks and SUVs with Generation IV Vortec 5300 27 1 Idaho, or North Carolina. Any vehicle that has already received adequate piston replacement (i.e., 2 upgraded piston rings) under warranty and at no cost is excluded from the definition of Class 3 Vehicle. 4 The Court confirms its appointment of Plaintiffs Gabriel Del Valle, William Davis, Jr., and 5 Garret Tarvin as Class Plaintiffs for the Classes. The Court confirms its appointment of Beasley, 6 Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. and DiCello Levitt, LLP as Class Counsel. 7 II. PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF THE SETTLEMENT 8 Pursuant to Rule 23(e)(2), in order to grant preliminary approval, the Court must find that 9 the proposed Settlement is “fair, reasonable, and adequate” after considering whether: (A) the 10 class representatives and class counsel have adequately represented the class; (B) the proposal was 11 negotiated at arm’s length; (C) the relief provided for the class is adequate—taking into account (i) 12 the costs, risks, and delay of trial and appeal, (ii) the effectiveness of any proposed method of 13 distributing relief to the class, including the method of processing class-member claims, if 14 required; (iii) the terms of any proposed award of attorney’s fees, including timing of payment; 15 and (iv) any agreement required to be identified under Rule 23(e)(3); and (D) the proposal treats 16 class members equitably relative to each other. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2). In assessing fairness of a 17 settlement, courts weigh: “(1) the strength of the plaintiff's case; (2) the risk, expense, complexity, 18 and likely duration of further litigation; (3) the risk of maintaining class action status throughout 19 the trial; (4) the amount offered in settlement; (5) the extent of discovery completed and the stage 20 of the proceedings; (6) the experience and views of counsel; (7) the presence of a governmental 21 participant; and (8) the reaction of the class members of the proposed settlement.” In re Bluetooth 22 Headset Prods. Liab. Litig., 654 F.3d 935, 946 (9th Cir. 2011) (internal citations omitted). 23 The Court preliminarily approves the Settlement Agreement, including the exhibits, 24 appended to the Motion as fair, reasonable, and adequate under Rule 23(e)(2), after taking into 25 account that the Class Plaintiffs and Class Counsel have adequately represented the Classes; the 26 Settlement was reached in the absence of collusion and is the product of informed, good-faith, 27 arm’s-length negotiations between the Parties and their capable and experienced counsel; the relief 1 proposed Notice Plan is sufficient to notify the Classes, (c) the terms of the proposed attorney’s 2 fees and timing of payment, and (d) the remaining terms of the Settlement Agreement. The 3 fairness and reasonableness of this settlement is further evidenced by the fact that after a full trial, 4 class members were awarded $2,700. Here, depending on the exact size of the North Carolina 5 class and a potential future award of attorneys’ fees, costs, and service awards, class members are 6 estimated to receive a number that is not too far off from the jury award. But for this settlement, 7 there would be substantial risks of appeals challenging rulings and pretrial rulings in this case that 8 would potentially delay and diminish the class members’ awards for years. 9 Plaintiffs have submitted sufficient information for the Court to support that Class Notice 10 should be disseminated as “the proposed settlement will likely earn final approval.” See Fed R. 11 Civ. P. 23(e) advisory committee’s note to 2007 Amendment. 12 The Court further finds that the Settlement, including the exhibits, appended to the Motion 13 is within the range of reasonableness and possible judicial approval, such that: (a) a presumption 14 of fairness is appropriate for the purposes of preliminary settlement approval; and (b) it is 15 appropriate to effectuate notice to the Classes, as set forth in the Settlement Agreement, and 16 schedule a Final Approval Hearing to assist the Court in determining whether to grant final 17 approval to the Settlement and enter Judgment. 18 III. APPROVAL OF NOTICE PLAN AND DIRECTION TO EFFECTUATE THE 19 NOTICE 20 The Court approves the form and content of the notices to be provided to the Classes, 21 substantially in the forms appended as Exhibits 3, 4, and 5 to the Settlement Agreement, as 22 amended at Docket No. 722. The Court further approves the establishment of an internet website 23 for the Settlement. The Court approves the Notice Plan, as described in the Declaration of Ryan 24 Aldridge of Eisner Advisory Group, LLC, the proposed Settlement Administrator. The Notice 25 Plan is reasonably calculated under the circumstances to apprise the Classes of the pendency of the 26 Action, the certification of the Settlement Classes, the terms of the Settlement, their rights to 27 object to the Settlement and Class Counsel’s Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses, and the 1 and entities entitled to notice. The notices and Notice Plan satisfy all applicable requirements of 2 law, including, but not limited to, Rule 23 and the constitutional requirement of due process. The 3 Court finds that the forms of notice are written in simple terminology, are readily understandable 4 by Class Members and comply with the Federal Judicial Center’s illustrative class action notices. 5 The Court orders that the notices be disseminated to the Classes as per the Notice Plan. 6 The Court directs that Eisner Advisory Group, LLC (“EAG”) shall act as the Settlement 7 Administrator. The Settlement Administrator shall implement the Notice Plan, as set forth in the 8 Settlement, using substantially the forms of notice appended as Exhibits 3, 4, and 5 to the 9 Settlement Agreement (as amended at Docket No. 722) and approved by this Order. Notice shall 10 be provided to the Class Members pursuant to the Notice Plan and the Settlement Administrator’s 11 declaration (Settlement Agreement, Exhibit 2), as specified in Section VIII of the Settlement 12 Agreement and approved by this Order. 13 The Settlement Administrator shall send the Class Notice, substantially in the form 14 attached to the Settlement Agreement as Exhibits 4 and 5 (as amended at Docket No. 722) to Class 15 Members by U.S. Mail, proper postage prepaid to Class Members, and by E-mail, where an email 16 address is available, as identified by data to be provided by GM to the Settlement Administrator or 17 a similar third-party entity. The mailings of Class Notice to the persons and entities identified shall 18 be substantially completed in accordance with the Notice Plan. The Settlement Administrator is 19 hereby ordered to obtain such vehicle registration information from, inter alia, the applicable 20 Departments of Motor Vehicles. 21 The Court authorizes the Settlement Administrator, Eisner Advisory Group, LLC, through 22 data aggregators or otherwise, to request, obtain and utilize vehicle registration information from 23 Department of Motor Vehicles for California, Idaho, and North Carolina for the purposes of 24 providing the identity of and contact information for Class Members. Vehicle registration 25 information includes, but is not limited to, owner/lessee name and address information, 26 registration date, year, make and model of the vehicle. 27 The Court directs GM to provide, within seven (7) days of the entry of this Preliminary 1 Administrator, or a similar third-party entity, who shall be authorized to use that information to 2 obtain the names and most current addresses of Class Vehicle owners through state agencies. 3 IV. FINAL APPROVAL HEARING AND OBJECTIONS 4 The Court directs that a Final Approval Hearing shall be scheduled for October 2, 2025 at 5 1:30 p.m., to assist the Court in determining whether to grant final approval to the Settlement 6 Agreement and enter the Final Approval Order and Judgment, and whether Class Counsel’s 7 Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses and request for Service Awards should be granted. 8 All Class Members shall be bound by all subsequent proceedings, orders and judgments, 9 including, but not limited to, the Release, Final Approval Order and Judgment in the Action, even 10 if he, she, they, or it has litigation pending or subsequently initiates litigation against GM relating 11 to the claims and transactions released in the Action. 12 The Court further directs that any person or entity in the Classes may object, directly or 13 through a lawyer at his, her or its expense, to the Settlement Agreement, the Motion for Attorneys’ 14 Fees and Expenses, and/or the requested Service Awards to the Class Plaintiffs. Class Members 15 who wish to object to the Settlement must send their written objections only to the Court. All 16 objections will be scanned into the electronic case docket, and the Parties will receive electronic 17 notices of the filings. Objections shall be mailed to the Clerk of the Court at the following address: 18 Mark B. Busby, Clerk of the Court 19 Office of the Clerk 20 United States District Court 21 450 Golden Gate Avenue 22 San Francisco, CA 94102-3489 23 Re: Raul Siqueiros, et al. v. General Motors LLC, No. 3:16-CV-07244-EMC 24 For an objection to be considered by the Court, the objection must be received by the Court on or 25 before the deadline established by the Court and must set forth: 26 (a) The case name and number of the Action, Raul Siqueiros, et al. v. General 27 (b) The objector’s full name, current residential address, mailing address (if 1 2 different), telephone number, and e-mail address; 3 (c) An explanation of the basis upon which the objector claims to be a Class 4 Member, including the make, model year, and VIN(s) of the Class 5 Vehicle(s), and whether the Class Vehicle is currently owned or currently 6 leased by the Class Member; 7 (d) Whether the objection applies only to the objector, to a specific subset of 8 the Class, or to the entire Class, and all grounds for the objection, 9 10 accompanied by any legal support for the objection, and any documents or 11 other evidence the objector believes supports the objection; 12 (e) Copies of any documents the objector wishes to submit in support; 13 (f) The full name, telephone number, mailing address, and e-mail address of 14 all counsel who represent the objector, including any former or current 15 counsel who may be entitled to compensation for any reason related to the 16 objection to the Settlement Agreement, the request for Attorneys’ Fees and 17 18 Expenses, and/or the requested Service Awards to the Class Plaintiffs; 19 (g) A statement of whether the Class Member objecting intends to appear at 20 the Final Approval Hearing, either with or without counsel; 21 (h) The identity of all counsel (if any) who will appear on behalf of the Class 22 Member objecting at the Final Approval Hearing and all persons (if any) 23 who will be called to testify in support of the objection; 24 25 (i) If the objecting Class Member intends to appear, in person or by counsel, 26 at the Final Approval Hearing, the objecting Class Member must so state 27 in the objection. Any Class Member who does not state his or her intention specifications, or who has not filed an objection in accordance with the 1 2 applicable deadlines and other specifications, will be deemed to have 3 waived any objections to the Settlement and can be barred from speaking 4 or otherwise presenting any views at the Final Approval Hearing; 5 (j) Any Class Member objecting to the Settlement shall provide a list of any 6 other objections submitted by the objector, or the objector’s counsel, to any 7 class action settlements submitted in any court in the United States in the 8 previous five (5) years including the caption and case number of each case 9 10 in which the objector has made such objection and the caption and case 11 number of any related appeal, and a copy of any orders related to or ruling 12 upon the objector’s prior such objections that were issued by the trial and 13 appellate courts in each listed case. If the Class Member or his or her 14 counsel has not made any such prior objection, the Class Member shall 15 affirmatively so state in the written materials provided with the objection; 16 and 17 18 (k) The original handwritten signature and date of signature of the Class 19 Member objecting (an electronic signature or attorney’s signature is not 20 sufficient) and the signature of any attorney representing the Class Member 21 objecting in connection with the objection, and the date of the objection. 22 23 Any objection that fails to satisfy these requirements and any other requirements found in 24 the Long Form Notice may not be considered by the Court.

25 26 27 1 V. SETTLEMENT DEADLINES The Settlement deadlines are as follows: 2 EVENT DEADLINES 3 Commencement of Class Notice Plan June 4, 2025

4 GM’s Counsel shall provide, to the extent it has not June 11, 2025 5 already done so, a list of VINs for the Class Vehicles to the Settlement Administrator 6 Class Notice to be Substantially Completed J uly 7, 2025 7 Plaintiffs’ Motion, Memorandum of Law and Other July 7, 2025 Materials in Support of their Requested Award of 8 Attorneys’ Fees, Reimbursement of Expenses, and Request for Class Plaintiffs’ Service Awards to be 9 Filed with the Court 10 Plaintiffs’ Motion, Memoranda of Law, and Other July 7, 2025 11 Materials in Support of Final Approval to be Filed with the Court 12 Deadline for Receipt by the Clerk of All Objections August 8, 2025 13 Mailed by Class Members 14 Deadline for filing Notice of Intent to Appear at August 8, 2025 Final Approval Hearing by Class Members and/or 15 their Personal Attorneys 16 Deadline for North Carolina Class Members to August 8, 2025 17 submit North Carolina Class Member Identification Forms. 18 Any submission by the Parties concerning Final August 13, 2025 19 Approval of Settlement and Responses to any 20 objections

21 Settlement Administrator Shall File the Results of August 29, 2025 the Dissemination of the Notice with the Court 22

23 Final Approval Hearing October 2, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. -

24 VI. EFFECT OF FAILURE TO APPROVE THE SETTLEMENT OR TERMINATION 25 In the event the Settlement is not approved by the Court, or for any reason the Parties fail 26 to obtain a Final Approval Order and Judgment as contemplated in the Settlement, the Final 27 Effective Date does not occur, or the Settlement is terminated pursuant to its terms for any reason, 1 then the following shall apply: (i) This Settlement Agreement shall be null and void and shall have no force or 2 3 effect, and no Party to the Settlement Agreement will be bound by any of its terms; 4 (ii) The Settlement Amount shall be refunded to GM plus interest earned (net of 5 any taxes paid on such interest), and net of all necessary and reasonable Settlement Administration 6 Expenses incurred; 7 (iii) The Parties will petition the Court to have any stay orders entered pursuant 8 to the Settlement Agreement lifted; 9 (iv) All of its provisions, and all negotiations, statements, and proceedings 10 11 relating to the Settlement Agreement will be without prejudice to the rights of GM, Class Plaintiffs, 12 or any Class Member, all of whom will be restored to their respective positions existing immediately 13 before the execution of the Settlement Agreement, except that the Parties will cooperate in 14 requesting that the Court set a new scheduling order such that no Party’s substantive or procedural 15 rights are prejudiced by the settlement negotiations and proceedings; 16 (v) GM and Class Plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and their heirs, assigns, 17 executors, administrators, predecessors, and successors, and on behalf of the Classes, expressly and 18 19 affirmatively reserve and do not waive any motions or arguments in support of or against the entry 20 of final judgment on the class action trial verdict, any appeals thereto, and any other motions held 21 in abeyance or otherwise stayed, including, without limitation, Plaintiffs’ motions for attorneys’ fees 22 (including interest), expenses, and Service Awards; 23 (vi) Neither the Settlement Agreement, the fact of its having been made, nor the 24 negotiations leading to it, nor any discovery or action taken by a Party or Class Member pursuant to 25 26 the Settlement Agreement will be admissible or entered into evidence for any purpose whatsoever; 27 and; the date of execution of the Settlement Agreement will be deemed vacated and will be without any 1 2 force or effect. 3 VII. STAY/BAR OF OTHER PROCEEDINGS 4 Pending the Final Approval Hearing and the Court’s decision whether to finally approve 5 the Settlement, no Class Member, either directly, representatively, or in any other capacity, shall 6 commence, continue, or prosecute against any of the Releasees (as that term is defined in the 7 Agreement) any action or proceeding in any court or tribunal asserting any of the matters, claims 8 or causes of action that are to be released in the Agreement. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1651(a) and 9 2283, the Court finds that issuance of this preliminary injunction is necessary and appropriate in 10 aid of the Court’s continuing jurisdiction and authority over the Action. Upon final approval of the 11 Settlement, all Class Members shall be forever enjoined and barred from asserting any of the 12 matters, claims or causes of action released pursuant to the Agreement against any of the Released 13 Parties, and any such Class Member shall be deemed to have forever released any and all such 14 matters, claims, and causes of action against any of the Released Parties as provided for in the 15 Agreement. 16 VIII. GENERAL PROVISIONS 17 The terms and provisions of the Settlement Agreement may be amended, modified, or 18 expanded by written agreement of the Parties and approval of the Court; provided, however, that 19 after entry of the Final Approval Order and Judgment, the Parties may by written agreement effect 20 such amendments, modifications, or expansions of this Settlement Agreement and its 21 implementing documents (including all exhibits) without further notice to the Classes or approval 22 by the Court if such changes are consistent with the Court’s Final Approval Order and Judgment 23 and do not limit the rights of Class Members under the Settlement Agreement. 24 The Parties may agree upon a reasonable extension of time for deadlines and dates 25 reflected in the Settlement Agreement without further notice (subject to Court approval as to court 26 dates). 27 1 IX. PRIOR MOTIONS 2 The Court terminates the following motions (previously held in abeyance pending a 3 settlement) as MOOTED by this Settlement: Docket Nos. 654, 655, 704. 4 The Court GRANTS Defendant’s Motion to Seal at Docket No. 694. 5 6 IT IS SO ORDERED. 7 8 Dated: June 10, 2025 9 10 EDWARD M. CHEN 11 United States District Judge a 12

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