Opinion
Civil Action 20-cv-01868-CMA-SKC
09-13-2021
VICTORIA PRICE, Plaintiff, v. VITA LOCATORS LLC, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING UNOPPOSED MOTION TO CERTIFY CLASS FOR SETTLEMENT PURPOSES, TO PRELIMINARILY APPROVE CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT, AND TO AUTHORIZE NOTICE TO SETTLEMENT CLASS
CHRISTINE M. ARGUELLO, United States District Judge.
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff Victoria Price's Unopposed Motion to Certify Class for Settlement Purposes, to Preliminarily Approve Class Action Settlement, and to Authorize Notice to Settlement Class. (Doc. # 72). Having reviewed the Motion (Doc. # 72), the Settlement Agreement (“Settlement, ” Doc. # 72-1), and the proposed Notice forms (Doc. # 72-2), and being fully advised in the bases for the Motion, the Court hereby GRANTS the Motion and ORDERS that:
(1) The proposed Settlement Class consisting of individuals who worked for Vita Locators, LLC as apartment locators at any time between January 1, 2018 and May 17, 2021, is hereby CERTIFIED for the sole purpose of effectuating the Parties' Settlement;
(2) The Court finds that: (1) the Parties' Settlement was fairly and honestly negotiated; (2) the Parties judge the settlement to be fair and reasonable; (3) serious questions of law and fact exist and place the ultimate outcome of the litigation in doubt; and (4) the value of immediate recovery outweighs the mere possibility of future relief after protracted and expensive litigation. See Rutter & Wilbanks Corp. v. Shell Oil Co., 314 F.3d 1180, 1188 (10th Cir. 2002). Accordingly, the Court PRELIMINARILY APPROVES the Settlement.
(3) Plaintiff Victoria Price is hereby APPOINTED as the Class Representative for the Settlement Class;
(4) Plaintiff's counsel, Claire Hunter and Adam Harrison of HKM Employment Attorneys LLP are hereby APPOINTED as Class Counsel;
(5) The Court hereby APPROVES the Notice and Opt-out forms attached to the Motion (Doc. # 72-2) to be sent to the Settlement Class Members;
(6) The Court hereby AUTHORIZES notice to be sent to the Settlement Class and ORDERS that:
a. Within 14 days of the date of this Order, Class Counsel shall send the Notices to the 30 putative Settlement Class Members using the contact information previously provided by Defendants;
b. The Settlement Class Members shall have 45 days from the date on which the Notices are mailed to opt out, object to, or remain in the Class and the Settlement;
c. Class Counsel shall conduct skip-tracing and make other reasonable efforts to locate and provide the Notices to any Settlement Class Members whose Notices are initially returned as undeliverable. Defendants shall cooperate with these efforts by providing Class Counsel with all contact information in their possession for those Class Members; and d. Class Counsel shall re-send the Notices to any Settlement Class Members for whom additional contact information was found through skip tracing and/or Class Counsel's other reasonable efforts;
(7) Class Counsel shall file a joint motion seeking final approval of the Settlement no less than 14 days before the Final Fairness Hearing; and
(8) A two-hour Final Fairness Hearing is set for December 20, 2021, at 10:00 AM. Class Counsel shall include this date on the Notices sent to the Settlement Class.
It is
FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant Andrew Wiggin's Motion to Dismiss First Amended Individual, Collective and Class Action Complaint and Jury Demand (Doc. # 64) is DENIED as moot.