Landucci v. Freeman Expositions, LLC

Background

Teresa Landucci filed a putative class action against Freeman Expositions, LLC. The operative complaint asserted claims involving allegedly withheld wages resulting from Bank of America check-cashing fees charged when certain Freeman employees cashed paper paychecks. It also asserted waiting-time penalties, unfair business practices under California’s Unfair Competition Law, and representative penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act for alleged Labor Code violations. The opinion states that Landucci’s individual claims for sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation had been resolved separately.

The parties reached a tentative agreement after investigation, mediation, and later negotiations. They then signed a long-form settlement agreement, as amended, providing for a $500,000 class and representative-action settlement. The opinion states that Freeman denied Landucci’s allegations and asserted affirmative defenses.

Preliminary Settlement Approval

The court found that preliminary certification of the following settlement class was appropriate: individuals employed by Freeman in California as non-exempt or hourly employees who received paper paychecks from Freeman and were charged a non-customer check-cashing fee by Bank of America when cashing at least one such paycheck between November 18, 2015, and the date of preliminary approval.

The court preliminarily found that the settlement was within the range of possible final approval, appeared fair and reasonable when compared with the risks and probable outcomes of further litigation, resulted from serious and non-collusive arm’s-length negotiations, did not improperly favor the class representative or any segment of the class, and had no obvious deficiencies. The court appointed Landucci as class representative for settlement purposes and Hoyer & Hicks as class counsel for settlement purposes.

Notice and Further Proceedings

The court approved the proposed notice packet and ordered Simpluris, Inc. to distribute it by first-class mail to identified class members at their last known addresses. The notice advised class members about the settlement, their ability to request exclusion, their ability to object, and their ability to appear at the final approval hearing. The court also appointed The Impact Fund as the recipient of any uncashed settlement funds.

The court granted Landucci’s motion to set a final approval and fairness hearing. The order set mailing of the notices for completion by May 11, 2022, and set July 11, 2022, as the deadline for objections and requests for exclusion. The final approval hearing was scheduled for August 26, 2022, at 9:30 a.m., by Zoom. Landucci was required to file a motion for final approval at least 14 days before the hearing.

The order provided that if the court did not grant final approval, or if the settlement did not become effective under its terms, the order would become void and be vacated, and the parties would return to their positions before entering the settlement. Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero signed the order on April 6, 2022.