Preview
1 Robert W. Ottinger (SBN 156825)
robert@ottingerlaw.com
2 THE OTTINGER FIRM, P.C. ELECTRONICALLY
535 Mission Street
3 San Francisco, CA 94105 F I L E D
Superior Court of California,
Telephone: (415) 262-0096 County of San Francisco
4 Facsimile: (212) 571-0505
03/25/2020
Clerk of the Court
5 Louis Benowitz (SBN 262300) BY: DAVID YUEN
louis@smithbenowitz.com Deputy Clerk
6 SMITH & BENOWITZ
4515 Van Nuys Boulevard, Suite 302
7 Sherman Oaks, California 91403
Telephone: (818) 839-7800
8 Facsimile: (818) 839-9700
9 [Additional Attorneys on Next Page]
10 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
CHRISTIAN SIMMONS, ALAIN NELSON DE VILLIERS,
11 and DAVID NGUYEN
12 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
13 COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
CHRISTIAN SIMMONS, individually and on Case No. CGC-18-568645
14 behalf of all others similarly situated, [Assigned for All Purposes to the Honorable
Richard Ulmer, of Dept. 302]
15 Plaintiffs,
DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN
16 SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR
vs. FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION
17 SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF
JOE AND THE JUICE LA, LLC; and DOES 1-- ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND
18 10, inclusive, Defendants. INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
19 Defendants. Hearing Information
Date: April 17, 2019
20 Time: 9:30 a.m.
Location: Department 302
21 ALAIN NELSON DE VILLIERS, an individual, Judge: Hon. Richard Ulmer
on behalf of himself and on behalf of all persons
22 similarly situated,
23 Plaintiff,
24
vs.
25
JOE & THE JUICE NEW YORK, LLC, Limited
26 Liability Company; JOE & THE JUICE US
HOLDINGS, Corporation; and DOES 1 through
27 50, inclusive,
28
DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL
APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND
INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
1
Defendants.
2
3 DAVID NGUYEN, an individual, on behalf of
others similarly situated,
4
Plaintiff,
5
vs.
6
7 JOE & THE JUICE US HOLDINGS, a California
1 corporation; JOE & THE JUICE NEW YORK,
8 LLC, a New York limited liability corporation; and
DOES 1 through 50, inclusive,
9
Defendants.
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DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL
APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND
INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
1 BLUMENTHAL NORDREHAUG BHOWMIK DE BLOUW LLP
Norman B. Blumenthal, Esq. (SBN 068687)
2 norm@bamlawca.com
Kyle R. Norrehaug, Esq. (SBN 2059975)
3
Kyle@bamlawca.com
4 Aparajit Bhowmik, Esq. (SBN 248066)
aj@bamlawca.com
5 2255 Calle Clara
San Diego, CA 92037
6
MATERN LAW GROUP, PC
7
Matthew J. Matern (SBN 248066)
8 Email: mmatern@maternlawgroup.com
Tagore O. Subramaniam (SBN 280126)
9 Email: tagore@maternlawgroup.com
Julia Z. Wells (SBN 314242)
10 Email: jwells@maternlawgroup.com
11 1230 Rosecrans Avenue, Ste 200
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
12 Telephone: (310) 531-1900
Facsimile: (310) 531-1901
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DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF
ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
1 DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ
2 I, LOUIS BENOWITZ, declare as follows:
3 1. I am an attorney in good standing duly admitted to the State Bar of California and an
4 attorney of record for Plaintiffs Christian Simmons, Alain Nelson De Villiers, and David Nguyen,
5 (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) in this action against Defendants Joe and the Juice LA, Joe and the Juice
6 New York, LLC, Joe & the Juice US Holdings (hereafter, “Defendants”).
7 2. Except for those matters stated on information and belief, which I am informed and
8 believe are true and correct, I have personal knowledge of all matters set forth herein. If called as a
9 witness, I could and would competently testify thereto.
10 3. I completed my undergraduate studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York,
11 where I was admitted as a Pauline and Irving Tanner Dean’s Scholar and earned a Bachelor of Arts
12 degree in English in May of 2003. I completed my legal studies at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles,
13 California, where I received a Juris Doctor degree in May of 2008 and graduated in the top 15% of my
14 class. At Loyola Law School, I served as Research Editor on the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment
15 Law Review, was a member of the Scott Moot Court Honors Board and the St. Thomas More Law
16 Honor Society, and was a research assistant to Professor Theodore Seto.
17 4. Since being admitted to the State Bar of California in February of 2009 after passing
18 the California Bar Examination on my first attempt, I have almost exclusively practiced in the areas of
19 civil litigation and employment law. I am a member of the California Employment Lawyers
20 Association (“CELA”) and the vast majority of my work during my time in active legal practice has
21 consisted of wage and hour and other employment law cases on behalf of employees, with a few
22 matters on behalf of employers. I currently have numerous pending employment law cases at various
23 stages of litigation, the majority of which are wage and hour class actions.
24 5. With respect to wage and hour class actions specifically, a sampling of matters in which
25 I have been appointed as class counsel is as follows:
26 a. Vang v. Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp., et al., U.S. District Court,
27 Central District of California, No. 09-CV-8061-CAS (appointed class counsel and granted final
28 1
DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF
ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
1 approval of settlement on behalf of retail store employees in case involving, among other things,
2 alleged vacation pay forfeitures, failures to provide meal and rest periods, and failures to pay overtime
3 wages based on employee misclassification).
4 b. Garcia v. Am. Gen. Fin. Mgmt. Corp., et al., U.S. District Court, Central
5 District of California, No. 09-CV-1916-DMG (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of
6 settlement on behalf of account managers in case involving, among other things, alleged overtime
7 miscalculations and meal and rest period violations).
8 c. Cerdenia v. USA Truck, Inc., U.S. District Court, Central District of California,
9 Case No. 10-CV-1489-JVS (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of settlement on behalf
10 of truck drivers).
11 d. Jones v. Shred-It, Inc., U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Case
12 No. 2:11-cv-00526-SVW-FFM (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of settlement on
13 behalf of customer service representatives and balers in case involving alleged off-the-clock work and
14 meal and rest period violations).
15 e. Douglas v. California Credit Union, Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No.
16 BC445050 (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of settlement on behalf of customer
17 service representatives for overtime miscalculation claims).
18 f. Alvarez v. Gary Grace Enterprises, LP, Marin Superior Court, Case No. CIV
19 1002553 (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of settlement on behalf of hair salon
20 employees for overtime miscalculation and related claims).
21 g. Calderon v. Greatcall, Inc., San Diego Superior Court, Case No. 37-2010-
22 00093743-CU-OE-CTL (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of settlement on behalf of
23 customer service employees in case involving, among other things, alleged meal and rest period
24 violations and overtime calculation errors).
25 h. Butler v. Lexxiom, Inc., San Bernardino Superior Court, Case No. CIVRS
26 1001579 (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of settlement on behalf of debt resolution
27
28 2
DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF
ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
1 center employees in case involving, among other things, alleged meal and rest period violations and
2 overtime calculation errors).
3 i. Valencia v. SCIS Air Security Corp., Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No.
4 BC421485 (granted class certification through contested motion and appointed class counsel in case
5 on behalf of former security workers based on late final wage payments in violation of Labor Code
6 §§ 201–203; also granted final of proposed class action settlement on behalf of certified class).
7 j. Sandoval v. Rite Aid Corp., Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No.
8 BC431249 (granted class certification through contested motion and appointed class counsel in case
9 on behalf of former pharmacy employees based on late final wage payments in violation of Labor
10 Code §§ 201–203; also granted final approval of class action settlement on behalf of certified class).
11 6. In addition to the class actions for which I am currently, or have been, an attorney of
12 record, I have also performed work on several other wage and hour class action cases, including the
13 preparation of liability exposure analyses and settlement approval motions. Further, both before and
14 during law school, I worked as a law clerk for the Law Offices of Spivak and Harrison (now The
15 Spivak Law Firm), where the majority of my work consisted of law and motion and discovery in
16 California employment law cases.
17 7. Though not a traditional class action, I recently successfully prosecuted an eleven day
18 bench trial with David Spivak, one of my co-counsel in this action, in the case of Alina Ghrdilyan, et
19 al. v. RJ Financial, Inc., et al., Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC430633 (2012), the
20 Honorable Ronald Sohigian presiding. To my knowledge, this is the first and only case to be
21 successfully prosecuted through trial in a non-class representative capacity under the Labor Code
22 Private Attorney Generals Act of 2004, Labor Code § 2698 et seq. on behalf of both named plaintiffs
23 and aggrieved employees against someone other than an employer for civil penalties including unpaid
24 wages. The case involves claims of unpaid overtime, unprovided rest and meal periods, unpaid
25 vacation, untimely interval and final wages, and unreimbursed expenses.
26 8. In addition to my experience in representing plaintiffs in class action litigation, I also
27 represented two of the defendants the case of Sam Jaicaman v. Mustafa Ertan Tuysuzoglu, et al., Los
28 3
DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF
ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
1 Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC467147. In that case, a putative wage and hour class action
2 alleging off-the-clock, meal and rest period, and related claims, I, along with counsel for other
3 defendants, successfully opposed the plaintiff’s motion for class certification.
4 9. I authored and submitted an amicus curiae brief on behalf of CELA in support of the
5 plaintiffs and the certified class in the case of Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc. at both the
6 Court of Appeal and Supreme Court levels. The ultimate decision from the Supreme Court in favor of
7 the plaintiffs incorporates much of the reasoning and arguments set forth in my briefs.
8 10. I have also been counsel for the plaintiffs in two recent successful appeals in
9 employment law cases. In Alejandro Chavez v. Southern California Edison Co., Court of Appeal,
10 Second Appellate District, Division Two, Case No. B253514, a male-on-male sexual harassment case,
11 my co-counsel and I obtained a reversal of a defense verdict after trial based on an erroneous jury
12 instruction with respect to the standard for establishing that workplace harassment is “because of” sex.
13 In Valencia v. SCIS Air Security Corporation, Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division
14 One, Case No. B255199, in a published opinion, my co- counsel and I obtained reversals of a denial of
15 class certification and a grant of summary adjudication based on the trial court’s drawing of an
16 erroneous conclusion with respect to Airline Deregulation Act preemption in a case centering around
17 alleged meal and rest period violations and related unpaid time.
18 11. Attached hereto as Exhibit 1 are true and correct copies of my firm’s time records for
19 this case.
20 12. I am request for this Court to apply an hourly rate of $550.00 for my services. I have
21 spent approximately 46.2 hours on this case so far. This rate is reasonable in view of my qualifications
22 and the supporting evidence submitted herewith and results in a lodestar of approximately $25,410
23 without the use of any multiplier.
24 ///
25 ///
26 ///
27 ///
28 4
DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF
ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
1 13. Attached hereto as Exhibit 2 are true and correct copies of my firm’s costs records for
2 this case to date showing that I have incurred approximately $2,577.55 in costs.
3 I declare under the penalty of perjury of the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is
4 true and correct.
5 Executed on March 24, 2020 at Sherman Oaks, California.
6
___________________________
7
LOUIS BENOWITZ
8 Declarant
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DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF
ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
EXHIBIT 1
Title Time Spent: 46.20 Date
Phone call with R. 0.50 12/17/2018
Ottinger re: co-counsel
agreement/case details
Draft outlines for PMQ 2.00 1/16/2019
deposition
Draft informal discovery 0.90 2/6/2019
requests for mediation
Workweek calculations 1.40 2/19/2019
from data produced by
Defendant
Initial review of 1.50 2/19/2019
Defendant's policies &
Plaintiff personnel
records
Initial Draft of Mediation 9.50 2/25/2019
Brief
Phone call with 0.40 2/25/2019
mediator, defense
counsel, and co-
counsel
Phone call with A. Tom 0.20 2/26/2019
& co-counsel re:
damages calculations
Finish preparing 5.50 2/28/2019
damages model for
mediation based on
expert data analysis
Mediation Preparation 4.20 3/4/2019
Mediation with Steve 10.00 3/5/2019
Serratore and related
travel
Send sample prelim 0.20 3/20/2019
approval motion to co-
counsel
Send MOU to co- 0.10 3/20/2019
counsel
Title Time Spent: 46.20 Date
Review/revise 4.50 4/12/2019
preliminary approval
motion and settlement
drafts
Review/revise updated 1.50 9/17/2019
prelim approval papers
Review answer to 0.20 10/28/2019
amended complaint
Review draft final 2.40 3/20/2020
approval motion
Prepare declaration iso 1.20 3/24/2020
final approval motion
EXHIBIT 2
Title Amount: $2,577.55 Notes
Mediation Parking $45.00 3/5/2019, 333 S. Hope St
Mediation Fee to Steve $2,500.00 3/5/2019 Paid $7500 to
Serratore mediator and got $5000
back from Ottinger Firm
(co-counsel)
Mileage to/from Mediation $20.30 3/5/2019 2019 IRS rate =
$0.58 Roundtrip mileage =
35
Photocopies - Mediation $12.25 3/4/2019, 49 pages @
Brief $0.25/page
Preview
1 Robert W. Ottinger (SBN 156825) robert@ottingerlaw.com 2 THE OTTINGER FIRM, P.C. ELECTRONICALLY 535 Mission Street 3 San Francisco, CA 94105 F I L E D Superior Court of California, Telephone: (415) 262-0096 County of San Francisco 4 Facsimile: (212) 571-0505 03/25/2020 Clerk of the Court 5 Louis Benowitz (SBN 262300) BY: DAVID YUEN louis@smithbenowitz.com Deputy Clerk 6 SMITH & BENOWITZ 4515 Van Nuys Boulevard, Suite 302 7 Sherman Oaks, California 91403 Telephone: (818) 839-7800 8 Facsimile: (818) 839-9700 9 [Additional Attorneys on Next Page] 10 Attorneys for Plaintiffs CHRISTIAN SIMMONS, ALAIN NELSON DE VILLIERS, 11 and DAVID NGUYEN 12 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 13 COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CHRISTIAN SIMMONS, individually and on Case No. CGC-18-568645 14 behalf of all others similarly situated, [Assigned for All Purposes to the Honorable Richard Ulmer, of Dept. 302] 15 Plaintiffs, DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN 16 SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR vs. FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION 17 SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF JOE AND THE JUICE LA, LLC; and DOES 1-- ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND 18 10, inclusive, Defendants. INCENTIVE PAYMENTS 19 Defendants. Hearing Information Date: April 17, 2019 20 Time: 9:30 a.m. Location: Department 302 21 ALAIN NELSON DE VILLIERS, an individual, Judge: Hon. Richard Ulmer on behalf of himself and on behalf of all persons 22 similarly situated, 23 Plaintiff, 24 vs. 25 JOE & THE JUICE NEW YORK, LLC, Limited 26 Liability Company; JOE & THE JUICE US HOLDINGS, Corporation; and DOES 1 through 27 50, inclusive, 28 DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS 1 Defendants. 2 3 DAVID NGUYEN, an individual, on behalf of others similarly situated, 4 Plaintiff, 5 vs. 6 7 JOE & THE JUICE US HOLDINGS, a California 1 corporation; JOE & THE JUICE NEW YORK, 8 LLC, a New York limited liability corporation; and DOES 1 through 50, inclusive, 9 Defendants. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS 1 BLUMENTHAL NORDREHAUG BHOWMIK DE BLOUW LLP Norman B. Blumenthal, Esq. (SBN 068687) 2 norm@bamlawca.com Kyle R. Norrehaug, Esq. (SBN 2059975) 3 Kyle@bamlawca.com 4 Aparajit Bhowmik, Esq. (SBN 248066) aj@bamlawca.com 5 2255 Calle Clara San Diego, CA 92037 6 MATERN LAW GROUP, PC 7 Matthew J. Matern (SBN 248066) 8 Email: mmatern@maternlawgroup.com Tagore O. Subramaniam (SBN 280126) 9 Email: tagore@maternlawgroup.com Julia Z. Wells (SBN 314242) 10 Email: jwells@maternlawgroup.com 11 1230 Rosecrans Avenue, Ste 200 Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 12 Telephone: (310) 531-1900 Facsimile: (310) 531-1901 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS 1 DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ 2 I, LOUIS BENOWITZ, declare as follows: 3 1. I am an attorney in good standing duly admitted to the State Bar of California and an 4 attorney of record for Plaintiffs Christian Simmons, Alain Nelson De Villiers, and David Nguyen, 5 (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) in this action against Defendants Joe and the Juice LA, Joe and the Juice 6 New York, LLC, Joe & the Juice US Holdings (hereafter, “Defendants”). 7 2. Except for those matters stated on information and belief, which I am informed and 8 believe are true and correct, I have personal knowledge of all matters set forth herein. If called as a 9 witness, I could and would competently testify thereto. 10 3. I completed my undergraduate studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, 11 where I was admitted as a Pauline and Irving Tanner Dean’s Scholar and earned a Bachelor of Arts 12 degree in English in May of 2003. I completed my legal studies at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, 13 California, where I received a Juris Doctor degree in May of 2008 and graduated in the top 15% of my 14 class. At Loyola Law School, I served as Research Editor on the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment 15 Law Review, was a member of the Scott Moot Court Honors Board and the St. Thomas More Law 16 Honor Society, and was a research assistant to Professor Theodore Seto. 17 4. Since being admitted to the State Bar of California in February of 2009 after passing 18 the California Bar Examination on my first attempt, I have almost exclusively practiced in the areas of 19 civil litigation and employment law. I am a member of the California Employment Lawyers 20 Association (“CELA”) and the vast majority of my work during my time in active legal practice has 21 consisted of wage and hour and other employment law cases on behalf of employees, with a few 22 matters on behalf of employers. I currently have numerous pending employment law cases at various 23 stages of litigation, the majority of which are wage and hour class actions. 24 5. With respect to wage and hour class actions specifically, a sampling of matters in which 25 I have been appointed as class counsel is as follows: 26 a. Vang v. Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp., et al., U.S. District Court, 27 Central District of California, No. 09-CV-8061-CAS (appointed class counsel and granted final 28 1 DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS 1 approval of settlement on behalf of retail store employees in case involving, among other things, 2 alleged vacation pay forfeitures, failures to provide meal and rest periods, and failures to pay overtime 3 wages based on employee misclassification). 4 b. Garcia v. Am. Gen. Fin. Mgmt. Corp., et al., U.S. District Court, Central 5 District of California, No. 09-CV-1916-DMG (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of 6 settlement on behalf of account managers in case involving, among other things, alleged overtime 7 miscalculations and meal and rest period violations). 8 c. Cerdenia v. USA Truck, Inc., U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 9 Case No. 10-CV-1489-JVS (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of settlement on behalf 10 of truck drivers). 11 d. Jones v. Shred-It, Inc., U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Case 12 No. 2:11-cv-00526-SVW-FFM (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of settlement on 13 behalf of customer service representatives and balers in case involving alleged off-the-clock work and 14 meal and rest period violations). 15 e. Douglas v. California Credit Union, Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. 16 BC445050 (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of settlement on behalf of customer 17 service representatives for overtime miscalculation claims). 18 f. Alvarez v. Gary Grace Enterprises, LP, Marin Superior Court, Case No. CIV 19 1002553 (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of settlement on behalf of hair salon 20 employees for overtime miscalculation and related claims). 21 g. Calderon v. Greatcall, Inc., San Diego Superior Court, Case No. 37-2010- 22 00093743-CU-OE-CTL (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of settlement on behalf of 23 customer service employees in case involving, among other things, alleged meal and rest period 24 violations and overtime calculation errors). 25 h. Butler v. Lexxiom, Inc., San Bernardino Superior Court, Case No. CIVRS 26 1001579 (appointed class counsel and granted final approval of settlement on behalf of debt resolution 27 28 2 DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS 1 center employees in case involving, among other things, alleged meal and rest period violations and 2 overtime calculation errors). 3 i. Valencia v. SCIS Air Security Corp., Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. 4 BC421485 (granted class certification through contested motion and appointed class counsel in case 5 on behalf of former security workers based on late final wage payments in violation of Labor Code 6 §§ 201–203; also granted final of proposed class action settlement on behalf of certified class). 7 j. Sandoval v. Rite Aid Corp., Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. 8 BC431249 (granted class certification through contested motion and appointed class counsel in case 9 on behalf of former pharmacy employees based on late final wage payments in violation of Labor 10 Code §§ 201–203; also granted final approval of class action settlement on behalf of certified class). 11 6. In addition to the class actions for which I am currently, or have been, an attorney of 12 record, I have also performed work on several other wage and hour class action cases, including the 13 preparation of liability exposure analyses and settlement approval motions. Further, both before and 14 during law school, I worked as a law clerk for the Law Offices of Spivak and Harrison (now The 15 Spivak Law Firm), where the majority of my work consisted of law and motion and discovery in 16 California employment law cases. 17 7. Though not a traditional class action, I recently successfully prosecuted an eleven day 18 bench trial with David Spivak, one of my co-counsel in this action, in the case of Alina Ghrdilyan, et 19 al. v. RJ Financial, Inc., et al., Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC430633 (2012), the 20 Honorable Ronald Sohigian presiding. To my knowledge, this is the first and only case to be 21 successfully prosecuted through trial in a non-class representative capacity under the Labor Code 22 Private Attorney Generals Act of 2004, Labor Code § 2698 et seq. on behalf of both named plaintiffs 23 and aggrieved employees against someone other than an employer for civil penalties including unpaid 24 wages. The case involves claims of unpaid overtime, unprovided rest and meal periods, unpaid 25 vacation, untimely interval and final wages, and unreimbursed expenses. 26 8. In addition to my experience in representing plaintiffs in class action litigation, I also 27 represented two of the defendants the case of Sam Jaicaman v. Mustafa Ertan Tuysuzoglu, et al., Los 28 3 DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS 1 Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC467147. In that case, a putative wage and hour class action 2 alleging off-the-clock, meal and rest period, and related claims, I, along with counsel for other 3 defendants, successfully opposed the plaintiff’s motion for class certification. 4 9. I authored and submitted an amicus curiae brief on behalf of CELA in support of the 5 plaintiffs and the certified class in the case of Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc. at both the 6 Court of Appeal and Supreme Court levels. The ultimate decision from the Supreme Court in favor of 7 the plaintiffs incorporates much of the reasoning and arguments set forth in my briefs. 8 10. I have also been counsel for the plaintiffs in two recent successful appeals in 9 employment law cases. In Alejandro Chavez v. Southern California Edison Co., Court of Appeal, 10 Second Appellate District, Division Two, Case No. B253514, a male-on-male sexual harassment case, 11 my co-counsel and I obtained a reversal of a defense verdict after trial based on an erroneous jury 12 instruction with respect to the standard for establishing that workplace harassment is “because of” sex. 13 In Valencia v. SCIS Air Security Corporation, Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 14 One, Case No. B255199, in a published opinion, my co- counsel and I obtained reversals of a denial of 15 class certification and a grant of summary adjudication based on the trial court’s drawing of an 16 erroneous conclusion with respect to Airline Deregulation Act preemption in a case centering around 17 alleged meal and rest period violations and related unpaid time. 18 11. Attached hereto as Exhibit 1 are true and correct copies of my firm’s time records for 19 this case. 20 12. I am request for this Court to apply an hourly rate of $550.00 for my services. I have 21 spent approximately 46.2 hours on this case so far. This rate is reasonable in view of my qualifications 22 and the supporting evidence submitted herewith and results in a lodestar of approximately $25,410 23 without the use of any multiplier. 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 4 DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS 1 13. Attached hereto as Exhibit 2 are true and correct copies of my firm’s costs records for 2 this case to date showing that I have incurred approximately $2,577.55 in costs. 3 I declare under the penalty of perjury of the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is 4 true and correct. 5 Executed on March 24, 2020 at Sherman Oaks, California. 6 ___________________________ 7 LOUIS BENOWITZ 8 Declarant 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 5 DECLARATION OF LOUIS BENOWITZ IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND AWARDS OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS EXHIBIT 1 Title Time Spent: 46.20 Date Phone call with R. 0.50 12/17/2018 Ottinger re: co-counsel agreement/case details Draft outlines for PMQ 2.00 1/16/2019 deposition Draft informal discovery 0.90 2/6/2019 requests for mediation Workweek calculations 1.40 2/19/2019 from data produced by Defendant Initial review of 1.50 2/19/2019 Defendant's policies & Plaintiff personnel records Initial Draft of Mediation 9.50 2/25/2019 Brief Phone call with 0.40 2/25/2019 mediator, defense counsel, and co- counsel Phone call with A. Tom 0.20 2/26/2019 & co-counsel re: damages calculations Finish preparing 5.50 2/28/2019 damages model for mediation based on expert data analysis Mediation Preparation 4.20 3/4/2019 Mediation with Steve 10.00 3/5/2019 Serratore and related travel Send sample prelim 0.20 3/20/2019 approval motion to co- counsel Send MOU to co- 0.10 3/20/2019 counsel Title Time Spent: 46.20 Date Review/revise 4.50 4/12/2019 preliminary approval motion and settlement drafts Review/revise updated 1.50 9/17/2019 prelim approval papers Review answer to 0.20 10/28/2019 amended complaint Review draft final 2.40 3/20/2020 approval motion Prepare declaration iso 1.20 3/24/2020 final approval motion EXHIBIT 2 Title Amount: $2,577.55 Notes Mediation Parking $45.00 3/5/2019, 333 S. Hope St Mediation Fee to Steve $2,500.00 3/5/2019 Paid $7500 to Serratore mediator and got $5000 back from Ottinger Firm (co-counsel) Mileage to/from Mediation $20.30 3/5/2019 2019 IRS rate = $0.58 Roundtrip mileage = 35 Photocopies - Mediation $12.25 3/4/2019, 49 pages @ Brief $0.25/page