Warfa v. Nationwide Express, LLC

Background

Abdullahi Warfa and Omar Omar brought the case on behalf of themselves, similarly situated people, and a Minnesota Rule 23 class against Nationwide Express, LLC, and Amazon Logistics, Inc. The court had preliminarily approved the parties’ settlement, conditionally certified settlement groups, appointed class counsel, approved the proposed notice, and scheduled a final approval hearing. The court held that hearing on January 13, 2020.

Settlement classes

The court made final, for settlement purposes, the certification of two groups consisting of:

- The Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act Rule 23 class: all delivery drivers who performed services for the defendants through Nationwide Express, LLC at any time from May 19, 2018, through March 13, 2019. - The Fair Labor Standards Act collective action: the same group of delivery drivers and time period.

The court stated that 198 individuals were members of these settlement groups. It found that the approved settlement notices were distributed in the approved form and manner and provided sufficient notice. No class member objected to the settlement or requested exclusion.

Settlement approval

The court affirmed its earlier finding that the settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate. Under the $205,000 settlement, class members would recover 100% of the estimated unpaid overtime wages after deductions for attorneys’ fees, litigation costs, and class representative service payments. Each class member would receive a settlement check. Only a person who cashed the check within 90 days of issuance would release claims covered by the settlement; a person who did not cash the check would not release any claims.

The court approved Class Counsel’s request for $68,333.33 in attorneys’ fees, finding the amount fair and reasonable under both the percentage-of-recovery and lodestar methods. It also approved $1,778.45 in litigation-cost reimbursement and service awards of $1,500 each for Abdullahi Warfa and Omar Omar.

Implementation and disposition

The court approved a schedule requiring the defendants to deliver settlement checks to Class Counsel within 30 days of the order, followed by prompt mailing to class members. The checks would expire 90 days after issuance. Within 55 days after the checks expired, the parties were to file a stipulation for dismissal identifying people who failed to cash their checks for dismissal without prejudice and people who timely cashed their checks for dismissal with prejudice. The order did not itself enter those later dismissals.

The court also required the checks to include a notice stating that cashing a check would opt the person into the case and release federal and Minnesota state wage-and-hour claims for the period from May 19, 2018, through June 20, 2019. The court retained exclusive and continuing jurisdiction to supervise, implement, interpret, and enforce the order and settlement agreement. Judge Tony N. Leung signed the order as a United States Magistrate Judge.