Opinion
Civil Action 21-cv-01462-RM-NYW
02-03-2022
SHAWN MESS, TIMOTHY MOSS, and COREY REEVES, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. AQUILA SERVICES CORPORATION, a Wyoming corporation d/b/a Denver Metro Protective Services, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR ORDER PRELIMINARILY APPROVING PROPOSED CLASS AND COLLECTIVE ACTION SETTLEMENT
RAYMOND P. MOORE United States District Judge
This matter is before the Court on the Plaintiffs' Unopposed Motion for Order Preliminarily Approving Proposed Class and Collective Action Settlement. (ECF No. 54.) Having reviewed the Motion, the Parties' Settlement Agreement, and the proposed Notices, and being fully advised in the premises, the Court hereby GRANTS the Motion.
It is hereby ORDERED:
(I) That, for settlement purposes only, the Court certifies the following Class and Collective:
Colorado Class
ALL INDIVIDUALS WHO WORKED FOR DENVER METRO PROTECTIVE SERVICES AS SECURITY OFFICERS AND/OR PATROL OFFICERS BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 2019 AND NOVEMBER 12, 2021;
FLSA Collective
ALL INDIVIDUALS WHO WORKED FOR DENVER METRO PROTECTIVE SERVICES AS PATROL OFFICERS BETWEEN MARCH 1, 2020 AND NOVEMBER 12, 2021.
(II) That the Settlement reflected in the Parties' Settlement Agreement, attached to the Motion as Exhibit 1, is preliminarily approved;
(III) That the Plaintiffs, Shawn Mess, Timothy Moss, and Corey Reeves, are approved as Class Representatives;
(IV) That the Plaintiffs' Counsel, Claire E. Hunter, Shelby Woods, and Adam Harrison of HKM Employment Attorneys LLP, are approved as Class Counsel;
(V) That Rust Consulting, Inc. is approved as the Class Administrator;
(VI) That the proposed Notice and Opt-Out Forms (attached to the Motion as Exhibit 2) are approved to be sent to the Class, with the exception of the potential FLSA Collective Members, who will be sent the Notice, Consent to Join, and Opt-out Forms (attached to the Motion as Exhibit 3);
(VII) That the proposed Notice, Consent to Join, and Opt-out Forms (attached to the Motion as Exhibit 3) are approved to be sent to the Collective;
(VIII) That the proposed notice procedures are approved;
(1) Within twenty-one (21) days of this Order, the Defendant shall provide the Administrator with lists containing the names, addresses, phone numbers (where possible), and email addresses (where possible) of all potential Colorado Class Members and FLSA Collective Members;
(2) Within twenty-one (21) days of receiving the lists described above, the Administrator shall send the Rule 23 Notices to the Colorado Class Members, who shall have Sixty (60) days to opt out of or object to the Settlement, if they wish to do so, by following the instructions in the Rule 23 Notices;
(3) Also within twenty-one (21) days of receiving the lists, the Administrator shall send the FLSA Notices, as approved and/or modified by the Court, to the FLSA Collective Members, who shall have Sixty (60) days to opt in by filing the Consent to Join form;
(4) For any Notice that is returned undeliverable, the Administrator shall perform skip tracing and engage in other efforts consistent with the industry standards of the class administration industry to obtain additional contact information and re-send the Notice;
(5) Within Thirty (30) days of the end of the 60-day notice period, Class Counsel shall file unopposed motions seeking final approval of the Settlement and approval of their reasonable attorney's fees and costs;
(IX) That a Final Fairness Hearing is hereby scheduled to occur on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 at 9 a.m. in Courtroom A601, Sixth Floor, at the Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse, 90119th Street, Denver, Colorado 80294;
(X) That Class Counsel shall file, within 30 days of the end of the 60-day notice period, a motion seeking final approval of the Settlement, which shall include a report from Class Counsel and the Administrator regarding the actions taken during the notice period, the opt-ins, and any opt-outs and/or objections, and their
motion seeking approval of reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
It is further ORDERED that, in light of the parties' settlement, the pending Motion for Conditional Certification (ECF No. 27) and Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 31) are DENIED AS MOOT.