Opinion
Civil Action 1:22-cv-00058
07-06-2023
ANTHONY HAMMOND MURPHY, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. LE SPORTSAC, INC., Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT
HON. RICHARD A. LANZILLO, United States Magistrate Judge.
Now pending before the Court is Plaintiff's Unopposed Motion to Certify Class for Settlement Purposes and for Final Approval of Class Settlement Agreement. On January 24, 2023, the Court preliminarily certified the following Settlement Class:
Unless otherwise defined herein, all capitalized terms have the meaning set forth in the settlement agreement, which is attached hereto as Order Exhibit A.
[A] national class including all Blind or Visually Disabled individuals who use screen reader auxiliary aids to navigate digital content and who have accessed, attempted to access, or been deterred from attempting to access, or who may access, attempt to access, or be deterred from attempting to access, the Website from the United States.(Doc. 45, ¶ 3.) The Court granted preliminary approval to the proposed class action settlement set forth in the Agreement. (Id.)
The Court held a final fairness hearing on July 6, 2023 to consider: (1) whether the terms and conditions of the Agreement are fair, reasonable, and adequate; (2) whether the Parties' Agreement should be given final approval; and (3) whether and in what amount to award attorneys'
4. The Agreement is finally approved in all respects as fair, reasonable, and adequate pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(e). The terms and provisions of the Agreement have been entered into in good faith and are hereby fully and finally approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate as to, and in the best interests of, each of the Parties.
5. The Parties are hereby directed to implement the Agreement according to its terms and provisions.
6. The proposed Settlement Class is certified pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a) and (b)(2) for purposes of settlement. The Settlement Class is defined as:
[A]ll Blind or Visually Disabled individuals who use screen reader auxiliary aids to navigate digital content and who have accessed, attempted to access, or been deterred from attempting to access, or who will access, attempt to access, or be deterred from attempting to access, the Website from the United States.
7. The Court appoints and designates Plaintiff Anthony Hammond Murphy as representative of the Settlement Class.
8. The Court finds Kevin Tucker, Kevin Abramowicz, Chandler Steiger, and Stephanie Moore of East End Trial Group LLC, and Lawrence H. Fisher are experienced and competent class action counsel who fairly and adequately protected the interests of the putative class throughout this litigation and appoints them as Class Counsel for the Settlement Class.
9. Upon entry of this Final Approval Order, the Injunctive Releasing Parties shall, by operation of this Order Granting Final Approval of Class Action Settlement, fully and finally release, acquit, and discharge Defendant from the Released Injunctive Claims as set forth in the Agreement.
10. Pursuant to this release, Plaintiff and the Settlement Class Members shall not bring any claims concerning the Accessibility of the Digital Properties during the Agreement Term. Notwithstanding this release, Plaintiff and the Settlement Class Members may fully utilize the Dispute Resolution Procedure during the Agreement Term.
11. Plaintiff and all Settlement Class Members are, from this day forward, hereby enjoined from asserting any Released Injunctive Claims through the Agreement Term.
12. The Parties shall move to dismiss the Lawsuit with prejudice pursuant to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure no later than forty-five (45) days following the date of Final Approval and Defendant's payment of fees pursuant to the Agreement, whichever occurs later. Pursuant to Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375 (1994), the Parties' joint motion shall request that the Court's dismissal order expressly retain the Court's jurisdiction to enforce this Agreement against all Parties.