Opinion
2:22-cv-01552-RSL
01-13-2023
GABRIEL NAVARRO, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiff, v. REALPAGE, INC.; GREYSTAR REAL ESTATE PARTNERS, LLC; CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD, INC.; PINNACLE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SERVICES, LLC; BH MANAGEMENT SERVICES, LLC; CAMPUS ADVANTAGE, INC.; CARDINAL GROUP HOLDINGS LLC; CA VENTURES GLOBAL SERVICES, LLC; D.P. PREISS COMPANY, INC.; THE MICHAELS ORGANIZATION, LLC and INTERSTATE REALTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY, Defendants.
ORDER APPOINTING HAGENS BERMAN SOBOL SHAPIRO LLP AS INTERIM CLASS COUNSEL WITH RESPECT TO THE STUDENT HOUSING CLASS
ROBERT S. LASNIK, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This matter comes before the Court on “Plaintiff's Motion to Appoint Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP as Interim Class Counsel” for a nationwide student housing class. Defendants have not responded to the motion. The plaintiff in another lawsuit, Laura Boelens, filed a response to the motion for appointment of interim leadership, urging the Court to consider the facts that other cases, including hers, have been filed against RealPage, that it has not yet been decided whether and where these various matters will be consolidated, and that it has not yet been decided what firm is in the best position to serve as lead counsel and/or what the scope of the appointment should be. But those are precisely the issues that are currently before the Court. Plaintiff has filed both a motion for appointment of interim class counsel and a motion to consolidate. In the motion for appointment as interim class counsel, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP demonstrated that appointment of the firm would satisfy the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(g). This includes the work counsel has done in identifying or investigating potential claims in the action; counsel's experience in handling class actions, other complex litigation, and the types of claims asserted in the action; counsel's knowledge of the applicable law; and the resources that counsel has available and will commit to representing the class.should it be appointed as interim class counsel for the student housing class. Ms. Boelens fails to rebut any of these points, nor does she provide a reason to delay ruling on the motion.
Ms. Boelens' request for a “formal briefing schedule to allow [her] to be heard,” Dkt. # 70 at 3, is DENIED. The motion for appointment as interim class counsel was properly noted for consideration on the third Friday after filing, and LCR 7(d)(3) set the briefing schedule, pursuant to which any opposition papers were due on Tuesday, January 3, 2023.
The Court finds that appointing Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP as interim class counsel for the student housing class will aid in achieving efficiency and economy in what is likely to be expensive and complicated litigation, and that such appointment will enhance fairness to all parties concerned, as well as the proposed class. With respect to the proposed student housing claims, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP shall have authority over the following matters on behalf of plaintiff and all members of the proposed student housing class:
a. convening meetings of plaintiffs' counsel;
b. the initiation, response, scheduling, briefing, and argument of all motions;
c. the scope, order, and conduct of all discovery proceedings;
d. making such work assignments as among themselves and other plaintiffs' counsel as they may deem appropriate;
e. collecting time and expense reports from all plaintiffs' counsel on a periodic basis;
f. the retention of experts;
g. the designation of which plaintiffs' attorneys shall appear at hearings and conferences with the Court;
h. settlement negotiations and agreements with defendants;
i. allocate among counsel any award of attorney's fees and expenses; and
j. all other matters concerning the prosecution of the student housing claim on behalf of the student housing class.