Plaintiff’s Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement and Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs and Class Representative Service Award are granted, except that the court approves plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees only in the amount of $450,000. In addition, plaintiff must submit an amended Proposed Final Judgment showing how the parties will comply with CRC Rule 3.771(b), which provides: “Notice of the judgment must be given to the class in the manner specified by the court.” The notice should be included with the checks that are mailed to the class members.
The court concludes that a reasonable attorney fee in this case is 30% of the gross settlement amount. Counsel’s lodestar fees are only $306,876, the case settled only about a year after it was filed, and class members are receiving an average payment of under $118. A 30% fee still results in a generous multiplier of about 1.47.
The court concludes that the $1,500,000 class action settlement, as approved, is fair, adequate and
Hearing Date
December 04, 2020
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Plaintiff’s Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement and Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs and Class Representative Service Award are granted, except that the court approves plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees only in the amount of $450,000. In addition, plaintiff must submit an amended Proposed Final Judgment showing how the parties will comply with CRC Rule 3.771(b), which provides: “Notice of the judgment must be given to the class in the manner specified by the court.” The notice should be included with the checks that are mailed to the class members.
The court concludes that a reasonable attorney fee in this case is 30% of the gross settlement amount. Counsel’s lodestar fees are only $306,876, the case settled only about a year after it was filed, and class members are receiving an average payment of under $118. A 30% fee still results in a generous multiplier of about 1.47.
The court concludes that the $1,500,000 class action settlement, as approved, is fair, adequate and