Kastler v. Oh My Green, Inc.

Background

Anne Kastler filed a putative class action alleging that Oh My Green, Inc., now known as Garten, Inc., violated California labor laws. The alleged violations involved unpaid overtime; unpaid meal- and rest-period premiums; unpaid minimum wages; untimely final wages; inaccurate wage statements; unreimbursed business expenses; and unfair competition. The plaintiffs later amended the complaint to add Saul Andrade and Anthonicia Stallings as named plaintiffs and to add a claim under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), a California law allowing recovery of civil penalties for certain labor-law violations.

The parties mediated twice and reached a settlement. The court had previously granted preliminary approval. The final approval motions asked the court to approve the class-action and PAGA settlement and to award attorneys’ fees, litigation costs, and enhancement payments to the named plaintiffs.

Settlement Terms and Notice

The settlement created a $500,000 non-reversionary gross settlement fund. The fund covered payments to class members, settlement-administration expenses, $50,000 in PAGA penalties, incentive awards, attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs. Individual class payments were calculated proportionally based on workweeks during the relevant period.

Of the $50,000 PAGA payment, 75%, or $37,500, was allocated to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. The remaining 25%, or $12,500, was allocated to eligible class members. The settlement also released claims based on the facts alleged or that could reasonably have been alleged in the amended complaint, including wage-and-hour and PAGA claims. The named plaintiffs agreed to an additional general release in exchange for any approved enhancement awards.

The settlement administrator mailed notice to each of the 672 class members’ last known addresses. The notice described the claims, settlement terms, estimated payments, released claims, and procedures for objecting or opting out. The court found that the notice process complied with the applicable federal class-action rules. As of December 16, 2021, no class member had requested exclusion or objected; counsel reported that they could not reach 10 class members despite their efforts.

Final Settlement Approval

The court found that the settlement was fair, adequate, and reasonable. It considered the risks of continued litigation, including possible denial or later loss of class certification, the complexity of the claims, and the possibility that the defendant could become insolvent. The court also considered the $500,000 settlement amount, the discovery and analysis completed by plaintiffs’ counsel, counsel’s experience and views, the absence of objections or opt-outs, and the court’s prior analysis concerning conflicts and possible collusion.

The court granted Plaintiffs’ Motion for Final Approval of Class Action and PAGA Settlement. The order directed the parties and the settlement administrator to implement the settlement agreement and directed the parties to file a short stipulated final judgment within 21 days.

Attorneys’ Fees and Costs

Class counsel requested $175,000 in attorneys’ fees and $31,348.74 in litigation costs. The court found that counsel’s billing rates were reasonable and generally consistent with prevailing rates in the district, and that the hours worked were reasonable and not duplicative. The court also noted that counsel litigated on a contingency-fee basis and faced a risk of receiving no payment.

The court approved the requested $175,000 in attorneys’ fees and $31,348.74 in litigation costs. The court explained that the fee award was approximately one-third of the gross settlement fund, above the usual 25% benchmark under the percentage-of-the-fund method, but found that the record supported the higher percentage and that the award was below counsel’s combined lodestar—the amount calculated from reasonable hours multiplied by reasonable hourly rates.

Enhancement Awards

Counsel requested enhancement awards of $7,500 for Kastler and $5,000 each for Andrade and Stallings. The court recognized that the named plaintiffs provided documents, identified witnesses, communicated with counsel, conducted independent research, and participated in preparing and resolving the case. Kastler estimated that she spent 41.5 hours on the case; Andrade estimated 28 hours, including 11.5 hours after becoming a named plaintiff; and Stallings estimated 47 hours, including 19 hours after becoming a named plaintiff.

The court found the requested awards disproportionate to the estimated average class payment of $320.06 and the highest estimated class payment of $2,571.12. It therefore granted in part and denied in part the request for enhancement awards, awarding $5,000 to Kastler and $2,500 each to Andrade and Stallings, for a total of $10,000.

Disposition

The court granted the motion for final approval of the class-action and PAGA settlement. It granted in part and denied in part the motion for attorneys’ fees, costs reimbursement, and enhancement payments. The approved amounts included $175,000 in attorneys’ fees, $31,348.74 in litigation costs, $50,000 in PAGA penalties, and $10,000 in enhancement awards.