Trujillo v. Ametek, Inc.

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8 9 DANIELLE TRUJILLO, as Guardian Ad Case No.: 3:15-cv-01394-GPC-AGS Litem for KADEN PORTER, a minor, on 10 behalf of himself and others similarly ORDER GRANTING UNOPPOSED situated; LACEY MORALES, as Guardian MOTION FOR ORDER (1) 11 Ad Litem for ISABEL MORALES., a GRANTING PRELIMINARY minor, on behalf of herself and others APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION 12 similarly situated; BEVERLY HOY, on SETTLEMENT, (2) CERTIFYING behalf of herself and all others similarly SETTLEMENT CLASS, (3) 13 situated; APPOINTING CLASS Plaintiffs, REPRESENTATIVES AND CLASS 14 v. COUNSEL, (4) APPROVING AMETEK, INC., a Delaware corporation; NOTICE PLAN, AND (5) SETTING 15 SENIOR OPERATIONS, LLC, a limited FINAL APPROVAL HEARING liability company; THOMAS DEENEY; 16 and DOES 2 through 100, inclusive, Defendants. 17 18 Currently before the Court is Plaintiffs Danielle Trujillo, as Guardian Ad Litem for 19 Kaden Porter; Lacey Morales, as Guardian Ad Litem for Isabel Morales; and Beverly 20 Hoy’s (“Plaintiffs”) unopposed motion for preliminary approval of class settlement and 21 provisional settlement class certification under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil 22 Procedure. Given the Court’s familiarity with this settlement,1 the Court finds the matter 23 24 25 1 Following a referral from Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel, the undersigned held a settlement conference on September 20, 2019 that resulted in a global settlement of four related 26 actions (15cv1394; 15cv1525; 17cv597; 19cv1361). The parties consented to the 27 undersigned retaining jurisdiction to approve class settlements and to resolve disputes related to those settlements. The undersigned is familiar with the factual background of 28 1 suitable for disposition without oral argument and VACATES the hearing currently set 2 for June 8, 2020. This Court has reviewed the motion, including the Settlement 3 Agreement and Release (“Settlement Agreement”). Based on that review and the 4 findings below, the Court finds good cause to grant the motion.2 5 FINDINGS: 6 1. The Settlement Agreement appears to be the product of serious, informed, 7 non-collusive negotiations and falls within the range of possible approval as fair, 8 reasonable and adequate. See In re Tableware Antitrust Litig., 484 F. Supp. 2d 1078, 9 1079 (N.D. Cal. 2007) (granting preliminary approval where the settlement “appears to 10 be the product of serious, informed, non-collusive negotiations, has no obvious 11 deficiencies, does not improperly grant preferential treatment to class representatives or 12 segments of the class, and falls within the range of possible approval”). This settlement 13 was the result of three separate settlement conferences, two held by Magistrate Judge 14 Andrew Schopler in January and March 2019 and one held by the undersigned in 15 September 2019. Each party was represented at those conferences by sophisticated and 16 zealous counsel, and the final settlement agreement reflects hard-won concessions by all 17 sides. 18 2. The Full Notice, U.S. Mail Notice, Publication Notices, and Claim Form 19 (attached to the Settlement Agreement), and their manner of transmission, comply with 20 Rule 23 and due process because the notices and forms are reasonably calculated to 21 adequately apprise class members of (i) the pending lawsuit, (ii) the proposed settlement, 22 and (iii) their rights, including the right to either participate in the settlement, exclude 23 themselves from the settlement, or object to the settlement. 24 / / / 25 / / / 26 27 2 Capitalized terms in this Order, unless otherwise defined, have the same definitions as 28 1 IT IS ORDERED THAT: 2 1. Settlement Approval. The Settlement Agreement, including the Detailed 3 Notice, Short Form Notice, U.S. Mail Notice, Publication Notices, and Claim Form are 4 preliminarily approved. 5 2. Provision of Class Notice. Defendants shall notify Class Members of the 6 settlement in the manner specified under Section 20 of the Settlement Agreement. 7 3. Claim for Settlement Benefits. Class Members who want to receive 8 settlement benefits under the Settlement Agreement must accurately complete and deliver 9 the Claim Form to the Claims Administrator consistent with Sections 28, 29.2, and 29.2.1 10 of the Settlement Agreement, and in no event later than two years after entry Final 11 Approval in this matter by the Court, as set forth in Section 23 of the Settlement 12 Agreement. 13 4. Objection to Settlement. Class Members who have not submitted a timely 14 written exclusion request pursuant to paragraph 6 below and who want to object to the 15 Settlement Agreement must deliver a written objection to the Claims Administrator no 16 later than thirty (30) calendar days before the Final Approval Hearing. The delivery date 17 is deemed to be the date the objection is deposited in the U.S. Mail as evidenced by the 18 postmark. The objection must include: (a) the name and case number of the Action 19 “Trujillo v. Ametek, Inc., Case No. 15-cv-01394”; (b) the full name, address, and 20 telephone number of the person objecting (email address is optional); (c) the name, 21 address, and telephone number of any counsel representing the person objecting (email 22 address is optional); (d) the words “Notice of Objection” or “Formal Objection”; (e) facts 23 showing that the person objecting is a class member; and (f) in clear and concise terms, 24 the objection and legal and factual arguments supporting the objection. The written 25 objection must be signed and dated, and must include the following language 26 immediately above the signature and date: “I declare under penalty of perjury under the 27 laws of the United States of America that the foregoing statements regarding class 28 membership are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.” Any Class Member who 1 submits a written objection, as described in this paragraph, may appear at the Fairness 2 Hearing, either in person or through personal counsel hired at the Class Member’s 3 expense, to object to the Settlement Agreement. Class Members or their attorneys 4 intending to make an appearance at the Fairness Hearing, however, must include on the 5 timely and valid written objection a statement substantially similar to “Notice of Intention 6 to Appear.” If the objecting Class Member intends to appear at the Fairness Hearing 7 through counsel, he or she must also identify the attorney(s) representing the objector 8 who will appear at the Fairness Hearing and include the attorney(s) name, address, phone 9 number, e-mail address, and the state bar(s) to which counsel is admitted. If the objecting 10 Class Member intends to request the Court to allow the Class Member to call witnesses at 11 the Fairness Hearing, such request must be made in the Class Member’s written 12 objection, which must also contain a list of any such witnesses and a summary of each 13 witness’s expected testimony. Only Class Members who submit timely written 14 objections including Notices of Intention to Appear may speak at the Fairness Hearing. If 15 a Class Member makes an objection through an attorney, the Class Member will be 16 responsible for his or her personal attorney’s fees and costs. The objection will not be 17 valid if it only objects to the lawsuit’s appropriateness or merits. 18 5. Failure to Object to Settlement. Class Members who fail to object to the 19 Settlement Agreement in the manner specified above will: (1) be deemed to have waived 20 their right to object to the Settlement Agreement; (2) be foreclosed from objecting 21 (whether by a subsequent objection, intervention, appeal, or any other process) to the 22 Settlement Agreement; and (3) not be entitled to speak at the Fairness Hearing. 23 6. Requesting Exclusion. Class Members who want to be excluded from the 24 settlement must send a letter or postcard to the Claims Administrator stating: (a) the name 25 and case number of the Action “Trujillo v. Ametek, Inc., Case No. 15-cv-01394”; (b) 26 certify in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1746, under penalty of perjury, that the filer has 27 been legally authorized to exclude the Class Member from the Settlement and provide an 28 affidavit or other proof of the Class Member’s standing; (c) provide the filer’s name, 1 address, telephone and facsimile number and email address (if available); (d) provide the 2 Class Member’s name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address (if available), and 3 (c) a statement that the person does not wish to participate in the Settlement, postmarked 4 no later than thirty (30) calendar days before the Final Approval Hearing. 5 7. Provisional Certification for Settlement Purposes. For purposes of 6 settlement the Class is provisionally certified as: “Every person who: 1) attended 7 Magnolia Elementary School as a student for one or more school years between January 8 1, 1963, and April 13, 2020; and/or 2) worked as staff at Magnolia Elementary School for 9 one or more school years between January 1, 1963, and April 13, 2020.” Excluded from 10 the Class is any individual who has independently settled or resolved any claims related 11 to exposure to contaminants emanating from the Former Ametek Facility with any 12 Defendant in the Trujillo Action, and specifically including any person who has settled or 13 resolved claims directly with Ametek, Inc., Senior Operations LLC, or any of 14 Defendants’ present, former and future parents, subsidiaries, divisions, affiliates, 15 stockholders, benefit plans, officers, directors, employees, joint ventures, members, 16 domestic and foreign corporations, attorneys, insurers, agents and any of their legal 17 representatives, and the predecessors, heirs, executors, administrators, successors and 18 assigns of the same. 19 8. Conditional Appointment of Class Representative and Class Counsel. 20 For purposes of settlement, Plaintiffs Danielle Trujillo, as Guardian Ad Litem for Kaden 21 Porter; Lacey Morales, as Guardian Ad Litem for Isabel Morales; and Beverly Hoy are 22 conditionally certified as the Class Representatives to implement the Parties’ settlement 23 in accordance with the Settlement Agreement. For purposes of settlement, the law firms 24 of Baron and Budd and Gomez Trial Attorneys are conditionally appointed as Class 25 Counsel for settlement purposes. Plaintiff and Class Counsel must fairly and adequately 26 protect the Class’s interests. 27 9. Termination. If the Settlement Agreement terminates for any reason, the 28 following will occur: (a) Class Certification for settlement purposes will be automatically 1 vacated; (b) Plaintiffs will revert to their prior status as non-settlement Class 2 representatives; (c) Plaintiffs’ counsel will stop functioning as settlement Class Counsel, 3 but will revert to their prior status as non-settlement Class counsel; and (d) this action 4 will revert to its previous status in all respects as it existed on September 23, 2019. This 5 Order will not waive or otherwise impact the Parties’ rights or arguments regarding class 6 certification or any trial of any claims. 7 10. No Admissions. Nothing in this Order is, or may be construed as, an 8 admission or concession on any point of fact or law by or against any Party. 9 11. Stay of Dates and Deadlines. All pretrial and trial proceedings and 10 deadlines are stayed and suspended until further notice from the Court, except for such 11 actions as are necessary to implement the Settlement Agreement and this Order. 12 12. CAFA Notice. The Court finds that Defendants have complied with 28 13 U.S.C. §1715(b). 14 13. Fairness Hearing. On August 24, 2020, at 11:30 a.m., this Court will hold 15 a Fairness Hearing to determine whether the Settlement Agreement should be finally 16 approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate. Based on the date of this Order and the date 17 of the Fairness Hearing, the following are the dates associated with this Settlement: 18 Event Timing Date 19 Preliminary Approval Granted Day 1 20 21 Class Settlement Website On or before Day 15 Activated 22 Notice First Published in Print Day 30 or as soon as 23 Sources reasonably possible after 24 Order Granting Preliminary Approval 25 Class Counsel to File Motion 45 days before Final 26 for Attorney’s Fees and Costs Approval Hearing and Incentive Awards 27 28 . 2 Last Day to Postmark or 30 days before Final 3 |! | Submit Objection or Request | Approval Hearing 4 for Exclusion Online Parties to File Motion for Final | 30 days before Final 5 Approval Approval Hearing 6 || | Parties to Respond to Objectors | 14 days before Final 7 Approval Hearing g Final Approval Hearing August 24, 2020, subject to Court 9 availabilit 10 Last Day for Claimants to 2 years after the date of the Participate in Settlement Final Approval Order 11 12 This Court may order the Fairness Hearing to be postponed, adjourned, or 13 ||continued. If that occurs, the updated hearing date shall be posted on the Settlement 14 || Website, but other than the website posting, Defendants will not be required to provide 15 || any additional notice to Class Members. 16 * * * 17 IT IS SO ORDERED. 18 Dated: April 13, 2020 A 19 Hon. Larry Alan Burns 20 Chief United States District Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28