Moran v. FCA US LLC

Opinion

2 4 6 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 || ALFONSO and ARLENE MORAN, Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG individually, and on behalf of a class of 12 || similarly situated individuals, Hon. Jinsook Ohta 13 Plaintiffs, AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF 14 Vv. SETTLEMENT, PRELIMINARILY CERTIFYING SETTLEMENT □ 15 || FCA US LLC, a Delaware limited liability | CLASS, AND APPROVING CLASS company, NOTICE 16 Defendant. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETT] EMENT 1 THIS MATTER having been opened to the Court by Plaintiff's Unopposed 2 || Motion for Preliminary Approval (“Motion for Preliminary Approval”) of the proposed 3 || Settlement (‘Settlement’) in the above Action; 4 WHEREAS, this Court has reviewed and considered the Motion for Preliminary 5 || Approval and supporting materials filed by Settlement Class Counsel; and 6 WHEREAS, this Court has fully considered the record and the requirements of 7 || law; and good cause appearing; @) 8 IT IS THIS _ thday att! fon, ORDERED that the Settlement is hereby 9 || PRELIMINARILY APPROVED. The Court further finds and orders as follows: 10 1. The Court has subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d), and 11 |} venue is proper in this district. 12 2. The Court has personal jurisdiction over the Plaintiffs, Settlement Class 13 || Members, and the Defendant. 14 3. To the extent not otherwise defined herein, all defined terms in this Order 15 || shall have the meaning assigned in the Settlement Agreement (“Settlement 16 || Agreement’). 17 4. The Court finds that the settlement is non-collusive, a product of arms’- 18 |; length negotiations between counsel for Plaintiff and Defendant presided by over by an 19 || experienced Magistrate Judge. In reaching this finding of non-collusiveness, the Court 20 || considered “subtle signs” of collusion identified by Jn re Bluetooth Headset Prod. Liab. 21 || Litig., 654 F.3d 935, 947 (9th Cir. 2011). The Court preliminarily finds that, apart from 22 || the agreement on attorneys’ fees and costs, which is common in class action settlements, 23 || the settlement benefits are not dwarfed by the attorney’s fees, and that the Settlement funds 24 || do not revert, supporting a finding of non-collusiveness. 25 5. The proceedings that occurred before the Parties reached resolution of this 26 || matter gave counsel the opportunity to adequately assess this case’s strengths, 27 || weaknesses, and the risks to each Party and, thus, to structure the Settlement Agreement 28 || in a way that adequately accounts for those considerations. Page 1 Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT 1 6. After careful review of the Settlement Agreement, the Court hereby finds 2 || that the Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and adequate, and has no obvious 3 || deficiencies that preclude preliminary approval. Accordingly, the Court hereby 4 || preliminarily approves all terms of the Settlement Agreement and its Exhibits. 5 7. The Court preliminarily finds, for settlement purposes only, that all 6 || requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a) and (b)(3) have been satisfied. As such, the Court 7 || hereby preliminarily certifies the following Settlement Class: 8 All current residents of the United States (including 9 territories of the United States) who, prior to the Preliminary Approval Date, purchased or leased new 10 2017-2021 Chrysler Pacifica vehicles equipped with a 3.6-literV6 engine and a 9-speed automatic transmission that were originally sold in the United States (including 12 territories of the United States). 13 Excluded from this definition are (1) all owners or lessees 14 of Class Vehicles who have filed and served litigation 15 against FCA US LLC asserting problems with stalling in Class Vehicles that was pending as of the Notice Date 16 and who do not dismiss their actions before final 7 judgment and affirmatively elect to opt-in to the Settlement. However, Owners or lessees of Class 18 Vehicles who dismiss such litigation and affirmatively 19 opt-in to the Settlement shall be members of the Class for all purposes; (2) FCA US LLC’s officers, directors, 20 employees, affiliates and affiliates’ officers, directors 1 and employees; their distributors and distributors’ officers, directors, and employees; and FCA US LLC 22 Dealers and FCA US LLC Dealers’ officers and 3 directors; (3) judicial officers assigned to the Action and their immediate family members, and any judicial 24 officers who may hear an appeal on this matter; (4) all 5 entities and natural persons who have previously executed and delivered to FCA US LLC releases of their 26 claims based on stalling in the Class Vehicles; (5) all 27 parties to litigation against FCA US LLC alleging stalling in Class Vehicles in which final judgment has 28 been entered; and (6) all those otherwise in the Class Page 2 Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT 1 who timely and properly exclude themselves from the > Class as provided in the Settlement. 3 8. The Court conditionally certifies the proposed Settlement Class, and 4 preliminarily finds that the requirements of Rule 23(a) are satisfied, for settlement > purposes only, as follows: (a) Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(1), the members of the 6 Settlement Class are so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, (b) Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(2) and 23(c)(1)(B), there are common issues of law and 8 fact for the Settlement Class, (c) Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(3), the claims of ? Plaintiffs Alfonso and Arlene Moran are typical of the claims of the Settlement Class 10 that they represent, and (d) Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(4), Plaintiffs will fairly and adequately protect and represent the interests of all members of the Settlement Class as 12 the Class Representatives, and their interests are not antagonistic to those of the 13 Settlement Class. 4 9. The Court further preliminarily finds that the requirements of Rule 15 23(b)(3) are satisfied, for settlement purposes only, in that, (a) common questions of law 16 and fact pertaining to the Settlement Class Members predominate over questions that V7 may affect only individual members; and (b) a class action is superior to other available 18 methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of this controversy. The Court also 19 concludes that, because the action is being settled rather than litigated, the Court need not 20 consider manageability issues that might be presented by the trial of a nationwide class 1 action involving the issues in this case. See Amchem Prods., Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 22 || 501, 620 (1997). 23 10. The Court hereby preliminarily appoints Plaintiffs Alfonso and Arlene 24 Moran to serve as the Class Representatives for the Settlement Class. a9 11. The Settlement Class Representatives and Class are ably represented by 26 counsel who are experienced and competent in the prosecution of complex class action 27 litigation and have acted in their best interests. Accordingly, the Court hereby Page 3 Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT 1 || preliminarily appoints Capstone Law APC to serve as Class Counsel for the Settlement 2 || Class. 3 12. The Court also preliminarily appoints CPT Group as the Claims 4 |; Administrator (hereinafter, “Settlement Administrator” or “Claims Administrator’) to 5 || supervise and administer the Class Notice as well as the processing and review of Claims 6 || that are timely and properly submitted and comply with the terms of the Settlement. 7 13. This Preliminary Approval Order shall neither preclude nor in any way 8 || affect Defendant’s rights to assert that this action may not be certified as a class action, 9 || other than for settlement purposes only. The Court also concludes that, because the 10 |; action is being settled rather than litigated, the Court need not consider manageability 11 || issues that might be presented by the trial of a nationwide class action involving the 12 || issues in this case. See Amchem Prods., Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 620 (1997). 13 14. The Court has reviewed the content of the proposed form of Class Notice 14 || attached to the Settlement Agreement as Exhibit A (Short Form Class Notice), Exhibit 15 |} B (Long Form Class Notice), and Exhibit C (Publication Notice), and finds they satisfy 16 || Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(2), Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(1), and Due Process requirements and, 17 |} accordingly, the Court hereby approves the proposed Class Notice. 18 15. The Court further approves the proposed method for providing notice of 19 || the Settlement to the Settlement Class Members, as reflected in the plan for Class Notice 20 || in the Settlement Agreement. The Court has reviewed the Class Notice plan and finds 21 || that the Settlement Class Members will receive the best notice practicable under the 22 || circumstances. The Court specifically approves the Parties’ proposal that, on an agreed 23 || upon date with the Claims Administrator, but in no event later than September 10, 2022 24 || [seventy-five (75) days after entry of this order], the Claims Administrator shall cause 25 || individual Class Notice, substantially in the form attached to the Settlement Agreement 26 || as Exhibit A, to be mailed, by first class mail, to the current or last known addresses of 27 || all reasonably identifiable Settlement Class Members (the “Notice Date”). The Court 28 || specifically approves the procedures set forth in the Settlement Agreement for Page 4 Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT 1 || identifying Settlement Class Members, and for re-mailing notice packets and performing 2 || advanced address searches for Settlement Class Members’ addresses if returned as 3 || undeliverable. The Claims Administrator shall establish the Settlement Website as 4 || contemplated by the Settlement Agreement. The Court further approves the payment of 5 || notice costs as provided in the Settlement Agreement. 6 16. | The Court finds that these procedures constitute the best notice practicable 7 || under the circumstances, including individual notice to all Class Members who can be 8 || identified with reasonable effort, and constitute valid, due, and sufficient notice to Class 9 || Members in full compliance with the requirements of applicable law, Fed. R. Civ. P. 10 || 23(c)(2) and (e)(1), and the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution. 11 17. | The Departments of Motor Vehicles within the United States and Puerto 12 || Rico are ordered to provide approval to Experian, or any other company so retained by 13 || the parties and/or the Claims Administrator, to release the names and addresses of 14 || Settlement Class Members in this action associated with the titles of the Vehicle 15 || Identification Numbers at issue in this action for the purposes of disseminating the Class 16 || Notice to the Settlement Class Members. Experian is ordered to license, pursuant to 17 || agreement between Defendant and Experian and/or the Claims Administrator and 18 || Experian, the Settlement Class Members’ contact information to Defendant solely for 19 || the use of providing Class Notice in this action and for no other purpose. 20 18. Pending final determination of the joint application for approval of the 21 || Settlement Agreement, all proceedings in this Litigation, other than settlement approval 22 || proceedings, shall be stayed. 23 || 19. | The Court directs that, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2), a final Fairness 24 || Hearing will be held on February 15, 2023, at 9:15 a.m., in Courtroom 4C of the United 25 || States District Court for the Southern District of California, Edward J. Schwartz United 26 || States Courthouse, 221 West Broadway, San Diego, California 92101, to consider: (a) 27 || the grant of final approval of the Settlement pursuant to the terms of the Settlement 28 || Agreement, (b) certification of the Settlement Class, (c) appointment of Plaintiffs as the Page 5 Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT 1 || Settlement Class Representatives, (d) appointment of Class Counsel as Settlement Class 2 || Counsel, (e) appointment of CPT Group as the Settlement Administrator, (f) Class 3 || Counsel’s Fee and Expense Application and Plaintiffs’ Service Award Application, (g) 4 || any objections and/or requests for exclusion, and (h) entry of a Final Approval Order 5 || and Judgment. The Fairness Hearing may be adjourned by the Court, and the Court may 6 || address the above or other matters, without further notice to the Settlement Class other 7 || than notice that may be issued by the Court and/or on the Court’s and settlement 8 || websites. 9 20. The Court directs that no later than January 11, 2023 [thirty-five (35) days 10 || prior to the Fairness Hearing], Settlement Class Counsel shall file their Motion for Final 11 || Approval of the Settlement. Class Counsel shall move for approval of attorney’s fees, 12 || litigation expense reimbursements, and class representative service awards no later than 13 || October 26, 2022, fourteen (14) calendar days before the deadline to object. 14 21. The Court further directs that no later than February 8, 2023 [seven (7) 15 || days prior to the Fairness Hearing], Class Counsel may file any supplemental brief in 16 || further support of final approval. 17 22. Any Settlement Class Members wishing to object to the proposed 18 || Settlement or the requests for Class Counsel fees and expenses and/or the Class 19 || Representatives service award, must adhere to the following deadline and procedures for 20 || the objection to be considered: 21 a) To object, a Settlement Class Member must, no later than 22 November 9, 2022 [sixty (60) days after the Notice Date] 23 (hereinafter, the “Objection Deadline’), file and serve a written 24 objection, with all supporting documents and/or memoranda, with 25 the Court and provide copies of the objections to the Claims 26 Administrator at the address provided in the Short Form Class 27 Notice. Upon receipt, the Claims Administrator shall promptly 28 forward copies of all such objections to Class Counsel and counsel Page 6 Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT 1 for FCA US. Any objection to the Settlement Agreement must be 2 individually and personally signed by the Class Member (if the 3 Class Member is represented by counsel, the objection additionally 4 must be signed by such counsel). ° b) Any objecting Settlement Class Member must include with 6 his/her/their/its objection: ’ i. the objector’s full name, address, and telephone number; 8 ii. the model year and vehicle identification number of the Class ? Member’s Class Vehicle, along with proof that the objector 0 has owned or leased a Class Vehicle (e.g., a true copy of a vehicle title, registration, or license receipt); ill. a written statement of all grounds for objection accompanied by any legal support for such objection; 4 iv. copies of any papers, briefs, or other documents upon which IS the objection is based; V. a list of all cases in which the objector and/or his or her counsel has filed or in any way participated in—financially or 8 otherwise—objections to a class action settlement in the preceding five years 20 Vi. the name, address, email address, and telephone number of all attorneys representing the objector; and 2 Vii. a statement indicating whether the objector and/or his or her 8 counsel intends to appear at the Fairness Hearing, and if so, a 2A list of all persons, if any, who will be called to testify in support of the objection. 26 c) | Any Class Member who does not file a timely written objection to the Settlement and notice of his or her intent to appear at the Fairness Page 7 Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT Hearing ,or who fails to otherwise comply with the specifications set 2 forth in the Settlement Agreement, shall be foreclosed from seeking 3 any adjudication or review of the Settlement by appeal, collateral 4 attack, or otherwise. 5 23. Any Settlement Class Member who wishes to be excluded from the 6 || Settlement Class must submit a request for exclusion (“Request for Exclusion’’) to the 7 || Claims Administrator at the address specified in the Class Notice, by first-class mail 8 || postmarked no later than November 9, 2022 [sixty (60) days after the Notice Date]. Class 9 || Members who wish to be excluded from the Class must do so with respect to all Class 10 || Vehicles they own(ed) or lease(d); Class Members may not exclude themselves from the 11 || Class with respect to some Class Vehicles and include themselves in the Class with respect 12 || to other Class Vehicles. 13 24. Tobe effective, the Request for Exclusion must be sent via first-class U.S. 14 || Mail to the specified address and must: 15 a) include the Class Member’s full name, address and telephone 16 number; 17 b) identify the model year and vehicle identification number of the 18 Class Member’s Class Vehicle(s); 19 Cc) specifically and unambiguously state his/her/their/its desire to be 20 excluded from the class in Moran v. FCA US LLC; and 21 d) __ be individually and personally signed by the Class Member (if the 22 Class Member is represented by counsel, the Request for Exclusion 23 additionally must be signed by such counsel). 24 25. Any Class Member who fails to submit a timely and complete Request for 25 || Exclusion to the proper address shall be subject to and bound by this Settlement 26 |; Agreement and every order or judgment entered pursuant to this Settlement Agreement. 27 || Any purported Request for Exclusion sent to such address that is ambiguous or internally 28 || inconsistent with respect to the Class Member’s desire to be excluded from the Class will Page 8 Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT 1 || be deemed invalid unless determined otherwise by the Court. 2 26. The Claims Administrator will receive purported Requests for Exclusion 3 || and will follow guidelines developed jointly by Class Counsel and FCA US’s counsel for 4 || determining whether they meet the requirements of a Request for Exclusion. Any 5 || communications from Class. Members (whether styled as an exclusion request, an 6 || objection, or a comment) as to which it is not readily apparent whether the Class Member 7 || meant to exclude himself/herself from the Class will be evaluated jointly by Class Counsel 8 || and FCA US’s counsel, who will make a good faith evaluation, if possible. Any 9 || uncertainties about whether a Class Member is requesting exclusion from the Class will 10 || be resolved by the Court. 11 27. The Claims Administrator will maintain a list of all Requests for Exclusion 12 || and shall report the names and addresses of all such entities and natural persons requesting 13 || exclusion to the Court, FCA US’s counsel, and Class Counsel seven days prior to the 14 || Fairness Hearing, and the list of entities and natural persons deemed by the Court to have 15 || excluded themselves from the Class will be attached as an exhibit to the Final Order and 16 || Judgment. 17 28. Each owner or lessee of a Class Vehicle with a pending lawsuit against 18 || Defendant alleging problems with stalling in a Class Vehicle in which final judgment has 19 || not yet been entered and who dismiss such litigation and affirmatively opt-in to the 20 || Settlement shall be members of the Class for all purposes. 21 29. The Claims Administrator will maintain a list of all owners or lessees of 22 || Class Vehicles with lawsuits against FCA US alleging stalling in Class Vehicles pending 23 || on the Notice Date in which final judgment has not yet been entered who opt-in to the 24 || Settlement. 25 30. Upon final approval of the Settlement, all Settlement Class Members who 26 || have not timely and properly excluded themselves from the Settlement shall be deemed 27 || to have, and by operation of the Final Order and Judgment shall have, fully and 28 || completely released, acquitted, and discharged all Released Parties from/for all Released Page 9 Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT 1 |} Claims as set forth in the Settlement Agreement. 2 31. Pending the Final Fairness Hearing and the Court’s decision whether to 3 || finally approve the Settlement, no Settlement Class Member, either directly, 4 || representatively, or in any other capacity, shall commence, continue, prosecute, continue 5 || to prosecute, or participate in, against any of the Released Parties (as defined in the 6 || Settlement Agreement), any action or proceeding in any court or tribunal asserting any 7 || of the matters, claims or causes of action that are to be released in the Settlement 8 || Agreement. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1651(a) and 2283, the Court finds that issuance of 9 || this preliminary injunction is necessary and appropriate in aid of the Court’s continuing 10 || jurisdiction and authority over the Action. 1] 32. Inthe event the Settlement is not approved by the Court, or for any reason 12 || the parties fail to obtain a Final Order and Judgment as contemplated in the Settlement, 13 || or the Settlement is terminated pursuant to its terms for any reason, then the following 14 || shall apply: 15 (a) All orders and findings entered in connection with the Settlement 16 shall become null and void and have no further force and effect, shall not be used or referred to for any purposes whatsoever, and 17 shall not be admissible or discoverable in this or any other 18 . proceeding, judicial or otherwise; 19 (b) Allofthe Parties’ respective pre-Settlement claims, defenses and 0 procedural rights will be preserved, and the parties will be restored to their positions status quo ante; 21 (c) Nothing contained in this order is, or may be construed as, any admission or concession by or against Defendant, Released 23 Party, or Plaintiffs on any claim, defense, or point of fact or law; 24 . . . . (d) Neither the Settlement terms nor any publicly disseminated 25 information regarding the Settlement, including, without %6 limitation, the Class Notice, court filings, orders, and public statements, may be used as evidence in this or any other 27 proceeding, judicial or otherwise; 28 Page 10 Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT 1 (ec) Neither the fact of, nor any documents relating to, either party’s > withdrawal from the Settlement, any failure of the Court to approve the Settlement, and/or any objections or interventions 3 may be used as evidence; and 4 (f) The preliminary certification of the Settlement Class pursuant to 5 this order shall be vacated automatically, and the Action shall 6 proceed as though the Settlement Class had never been preliminarily certified. 8 33. The Parties and their counsel are hereby authorized to use all reasonable 9 procedures in connection with approval and administration of the Settlement that are not 10 materially inconsistent with the Preliminary Approval Order or the Settlement Agreement, including making, without further approval of the Court, minor changes to 2 the Settlement, to the form and content of the Class Notice or to any other exhibits that B the Parties jointly agree are reasonable and necessary. 14 15 16 . IT IS SO ORDERED. ¢ | | 18 Dated: | 4 | 2 2 Ks 19 on Ai cook Ohta 0 aited States District Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Page 11 Case No.: 3:17-CV-02594-JO-AHG AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT