Wallace v. Powell

301 F.R.D. 144, 2014 WL 3109201
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 7, 2014
DocketCivil Action Nos. 3:09-cv-286, 3:09-cv-0291, 3:09-cv-0357, 3:09-cv-0630
StatusPublished

This text of 301 F.R.D. 144 (Wallace v. Powell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wallace v. Powell, 301 F.R.D. 144, 2014 WL 3109201 (M.D. Pa. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

A. RICHARD CAPUTO, District Judge.

Plaintiffs in this consolidated action comprising both individual eases and class actions seek final approval of a settlement agreement (the “Settlement”) between Plaintiffs and Defendants PA Child Care, LLC, Western PA Child Care, LLC, and Mid-Atlantic Youth Services, Corp. (collectively “Provider Defendants”). (Doc. 1527.) The Settlement received preliminary approval on November 27, 2013. Now, following the final approval hearing held on June 10, 2014, Plaintiffs seek final certification of the Class for settlement, approval of the Settlement, and an award of attorneys’ fees and costs. For the reasons that follow, the Class will be certified, the Settlement will be approved, and attorneys’ fees and costs will be awarded as requested.

I. Background

A. Facts

This civil action arises out of the alleged conspiracy related to the construction of two [150]*150juvenile detention facilities, and subsequent detainment of juveniles in these facilities, orchestrated by two former Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas judges, Michael Co-nahan (“Conahan”) and Mark Ciavarella (“Ciavarella”). The juvenile detention facilities, PA Child Care (“PACC”) and Western PA Child Care (“WPACC”),1 were both constructed by Mericle Construction, Inc. Plaintiffs in this action, juveniles or the parents of juveniles who appeared before Ciavarella, seek redress from the former judges, as well as the individuals and business entities involved in the construction and operation of these facilities, for the alleged unlawful conspiracy and resulting deprivations of Juvenile Plaintiffs’ rights.

The individual and class complaints assert, in part, the following causes of action against Provider Defendants: (1) 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims alleging a conspiracy to violate Plaintiffs’ constitutional rights; (2) violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961, et seq.; (3) conspiracy to violate RICO; (4) state-law civil conspiracy; and (5) state-law false imprisonment.

B. Procedural History

The first of these consolidated cases, Wallace v. Powell, No. 09-CV-286, was filed on February 13, 2009 against multiple Defendants, including Provider Defendants. Although the case was originally filed as a class action, the Wallace complaint was subsequently amended in May 2009 to proceed on behalf of a number of individual juvenile and parent Plaintiffs. Shortly thereafter, Conway v. Conahan, No. 09-CV-291, and H.T. v. Ciavarella, No. 09-CV-357, were filed as putative class actions, both naming Provider Defendants, among others, as Defendants. Subsequently, Humanik v. Ciavarella, No. 09-CV-630, was filed on behalf of a single individual Plaintiff. Collectively, these four cases are the “Civil Actions.”

The Conway and H.T. Plaintiffs filed the Master Complaint for Class Actions in June 2009. (Doc. 136.) At the same time, the Wallace and Humanik Plaintiffs filed the Master Long Form Complaint for Individual Actions. (Doc. 134.)

With respect to Provider Defendants, they filed various motions to dismiss the actions in 2010 and 2011. The most recent motion to dismiss filed by Provider Defendants and resolved by the Court was granted in part and denied in part on November 30, 2011. (Doc. 1002.)

Shortly thereafter, on December 16, 2011, Plaintiffs and Robert K. Mericle and Mericle Construction, Inc. (collectively, the “Mericle Parties”) filed a Joint Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement (the “Mericle Settlement”). (Doc. 1005.) On February 28, 2012, following a preliminary approval hearing, the Court issued an order conditionally approving the Mericle Settlement. (Doc. 1084.) On November 19, 2012, the Court held a final approval hearing on the Mericle Settlement. The Mericle Settlement was granted final approval on December 14, 2012. (Doc. 1268.) As to the non-settling Defendants, including Provider Defendants, discovery remained ongoing at that time.

On February 1, 2013, Class Plaintiffs sought class certification for the litigation of all issues of Provider Defendants’ liability to Plaintiffs pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3). (Doc. 1319.) By Memorandum and Order dated May 14, 2013, Class Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification was granted. (Docs. 1409; 1410.)

Subsequently, on October 16, 2013, Plaintiffs and Provider Defendants filed a Joint Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement. (Doc. 1448.) On November 27, 2013, following a preliminary approval hearing, the Court issued an order conditionally certifying the Settlement Class, preliminarily approving the class action settlement, and approving the notice plan as modified. (Doc. 1491.) On June 10, 2014, the Court held a final Settlement approval hearing.

[151]*151C. The Settlement Agreement

Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, the parties agree to settle the Actions to provide a final resolution of Plaintiffs’ claims against Provider Defendants.2 Solely for the purposes of settlement, two settlement classes are established: (1) the “Juvenile Settlement Class,” which consists of “all juveniles who appeared before former Lu-zerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark A. Ciavarella between January 1, 2003 and May 28, 2008 [the “Class Period”] who were adjudicated or placed by Ciavarella”; and (2) the “Parent Settlement Class,” which is comprised of the parents and/or guardians of juveniles who appeared before Ciavarella between January 1, 2003 and May 28, 2008, and, who in connection with the juvenile’s appearance: “(i) made payments in them own names or had wages, social security or other entitlements in their own names garnished or withdrawn; (ii) paid costs, fees, interest and/or penalties in their own name; (iii) suffered any loss of companionship and/or family integrity, ... and who were not fully reimbursed as a result of claims made in connection with the Meriele Settlement, ...” (MSA, ¶ I.A.) The Juvenile Settlement Class and the Parent Settlement Class are referred to collectively as the “Settlement Classes,” and the members of the Settlement Classes are the “Settlement Class Members.” (Id.)

Pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement, Provider Defendants agree to pay $2,500,000.00, which will be used to pay settlement costs and claims by Class Members. (Id. at ¶ II.A.) Under the proposed Allocation Plan, basic benefits are available to qualifying Juvenile Settlement Class Members and Parent Settlement Class Members.

1. Juvenile Settlement Class Benefits

Under the terms of the Allocation Plan, each qualifying Juvenile Settlement Class Member (“Juvenile”) will receive settlement payment based on the following Settlement Categories:

1. Probation:

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Bluebook (online)
301 F.R.D. 144, 2014 WL 3109201, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wallace-v-powell-pamd-2014.