Opinion
CASE NO. C 07-03993 CW.
February 1, 2010
T. JOSEPH SNODGRASS (MN# 231071) ( pro hac vice), KELLY A. SWANSON (MN# 330838) (pro hac vice), LARSON KING, LLP, St. Paul, Minnesota, Attorneys for Plaintiffs, MONTE RUSSELL and DANIEL FRIEDMAN.
GLENN L. BRIGGS (SB# 174497), THERESA A. KADING (SB# 211469), HODEL BRIGGS WINTER LLP, Irvine, CA, Attorneys for Defendants, WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.; WELLS FARGO COMPANY.
ORDER GRANTING STIPULATION TO EXTEND DEADLINE FOR FILING UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT
Plaintiffs Monte Russell and Daniel Friedman ("Plaintiffs") and Defendants Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and Wells Fargo Company ("Defendants"), through their respective counsel, hereby stipulate as follows:
WHEREAS, the Court issued an Order continuing the Case Management Conference to April 6, 2010, pursuant to a Stipulation by the parties, on December 8, 2009 (ECF No. 134);
WHEREAS, the Court's December 8, 2009 Order further provided that if the parties should reach a settlement, they may file no later than January 26, 2010, an unopposed motion for preliminary approval, without noticing it for hearing, and the motion would be decided by the Court on the papers;
WHEREAS, since the Court's December 8, 2009 Order, counsel for the parties have agreed in principle on an settlement amount, formulae and structures for this conditionally certified collective action and putative Rule 23 state law class action, the number and identity of settlement subclasses which shall make up the Opt-in and putative Rule 23 state law classes, and formulae for calculating damages awards for the Named Plaintiffs, Opt-in Plaintiffs, and members of the putative Rule 23 state law class;
WHEREAS, while counsel for the parties have reached an agreement in principle for approximately 98 persons who have opted-in or are putative class members, they are still exchanging information regarding resolution of the claims of PC/LAN 5 engineers (or employees who worked for some period of time as PC/LAN 5s) who opted-into the litigation, and who number approximately 13 employees;
WHEREAS, counsel for the parties remain optimistic they can resolve of the claims of the PC/LAN 5s and include them in the settlement group of 98;
WHEREAS, the Plaintiffs' attorneys have discussed the status of negotiations with a percentage of their individual opt-in clients and, based on these privileged discussions, believe that the proposed settlement of this action will be well received by the Opt-in Plaintiffs and members of the putative Rule 23 state law class;
WHEREAS, the parties have been working diligently to reduce the specific terms of the proposed FLSA collective action and Rule 23 class action settlement to writing, all of which takes time as this action is a complex putative class and collective action; and
WHEREAS, presently the parties require and hereby request 30 days so as to allow the parties to further develop the specific terms of the settlement and draft the papers for preliminary FLSA and Rule 23 approval, including proposed class notices and claims forms, for submission to the Court.
NOW, THEREFORE, through their respective counsel, THE PARTIES STIPULATE TO THE FOLLOWING:
1. The parties propose that the deadline for submitting an unopposed motion for preliminary approval of settlement be extended until February 26, 2010.