Caudle v. Sprint/United Management Company

Background

This wage-and-hour class action concerned Sprint/United Management Company’s Sprint Promoter Score Adjustment program, which operated from February 2016 through March 2017. Joshua Caudle and Krystle White alleged that the program caused unlawful deductions from employees’ wages under California Labor Code sections 221 through 223. The court had previously certified three classes: a class concerning the program’s wage deductions, and derivative wage-statement and waiting-time classes.

After the court preliminarily approved a proposed settlement, the settlement administrator mailed notice to the class. Some names and addresses had been transposed, and 31 of the 2,288 notice packets ultimately remained undeliverable. Two class members opted out and one, Edris Yasin, objected. The settlement provided for a $4,000,000 common fund, automatic payments without claim forms, and transfer of uncashed checks after 180 days to the California State Controller’s Unclaimed Property Fund in the participating class member’s name.

Final Approval of Settlement

The court granted final approval of the class settlement and allocation plan. Applying Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e), the court found that the notice was adequate and that the settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate. The court considered the risks and likely expense of continued litigation, the parties’ discovery and mediation, counsel’s experience, the class members’ response, and the settlement’s benefits.

The court noted that the plaintiffs’ claims were not guaranteed to succeed. It cited legal risks concerning variable commissions, wage statements, and a possible good-faith defense to waiting-time penalties. The court also found that the parties had conducted adequate discovery, including a deposition, written discovery, review of more than 7,000 pages of Sprint documents, interviews with class members, supporting declarations, and expert work on damages.

The $4,000,000 settlement represented approximately half of the potential maximum recovery. After specified payments, class members would be reimbursed for deductions under the program, with two years of interest, and would receive portions of potential wage-statement, waiting-time, and Private Attorneys General Act penalties. Ninety percent of the remaining fund was allocated to the Waiting Time Class and 10 percent to the Wage Statement Class. The court also found the release appropriately narrow for the certified claims, while explaining that Yasin’s separate health and wage claims were outside the certified classes. Yasin was not a member of the waiting-time class because his employment dates did not fit that class definition. His objection was overruled.

Attorney’s Fees and Expenses

Class counsel requested $1,000,000 in attorney’s fees, equal to 25 percent of the settlement fund. The court found that counsel had performed adequately but that counsel overstated the extent of the work. Using the percentage-of-the-fund method and considering the case’s results and risks, the court awarded $900,000. The court stated that this amount represented 22.5 percent of the common fund and exceeded the $444,275 lodestar, which is the number of reasonable hours multiplied by reasonable hourly rates. The motion for attorney’s fees was granted in part.

Class counsel requested $34,687.80 in litigation expenses. The court found that the expenses were generally reasonable and necessary but disallowed a $133 flight-change charge that was unexplained and did not appear necessary. The motion for reimbursement of expenses was granted in part, and counsel was awarded $34,554.80.

Incentive Awards and Administration Costs

Caudle and White requested incentive awards of $5,000 and $3,000, respectively. The court considered their work on the case, including Caudle’s efforts before the lawsuit and both plaintiffs’ assistance to counsel. It also considered that they released claims beyond the certified class claims and had assumed reputational harm as named plaintiffs. The request for incentive awards was granted in part: Caudle received $500 and White received $320.

The court granted Settlement Administrator Simpluris, Inc. administration costs of $17,250. The order stated that the fees, expenses, incentive awards, and administration costs would be paid from the settlement fund. Class members who did not timely request exclusion are bound by the approved settlement.