Opinion
Case No. C 10-03583 SC
10-27-2011
STEPHEN SONG, as an individual and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. KLM GROUP, INC. dba KLM ONSITE SOLUTIONS, a Pennsylvania corporation; and DOES 1 through 20, inclusive, Defendants.
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF
CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT
Now before the Court is Plaintiff Stephen Song's ("Plaintiff") Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement. ECF No. 37 ("Motion"). Defendant KLM Group, Inc. ("Defendant") has filed a Statement of Non-Opposition to the Motion. ECF No. 38. In support of the Motion, Plaintiff has filed the Settlement Agreement, ECF No. 36, ("Settlement"), as well as the proposed settlement notice, Settlement Ex. 1 ("Notice"), and the proposed claim form, Settlement Ex. 2 ("Claim Form").
Having reviewed the papers submitted, the Court finds that that it cannot grant the relief requested because the "Class Representative Service Payment" is inappropriate. See Settlement § 6.3. Plaintiff, as class representative, seeks an additional payment of $2,500 because he "provided documents to Class Counsel," "reviewed a substantial number of documents," and "was on stand by and made himself available during both of the settlement conferences." Id.; Mot. at 18-19. The Court finds these actions do not justify an additional payment to Plaintiff of $2,500, which is five percent of the total settlement and approximately eight times the amount of the average award to the other class members. The Court would view a Class Representative Service Payment which is roughly three times larger than the average class member award as more appropriate.
The district court does not have the ability to "delete, modify, or substitute certain provisions" of a proposed settlement. Hanlon v. Chrysler Corp., 150 F.3d 1011, 1026 (9th Cir. 1998) (quotations omitted). Accordingly, the Court DENIES Plaintiff Stephen Song's Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement. The Court would be willing to reconsider its decision if the parties adjust the Class Representative Service Payment reflected in the Settlement Agreement.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE