Collins v. Lakes Area Pizza, Inc.

Background

The plaintiffs filed a proposed class-action settlement and individual settlements with Lakes Area Pizza, Inc., and the other defendants. The court had previously certified a Minnesota class for settlement purposes and a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal wage-and-hour law, also for settlement purposes. It preliminarily approved both settlements, approved the proposed notice, ordered notice to be distributed, and scheduled a final fairness hearing.

The court held the final fairness hearing on April 11, 2023. Neither the court nor counsel received a settlement objection before the hearing, and no objector appeared at the hearing. The court also found that the required notice to federal and state officials had been given and that the applicable waiting period had passed without an objection from those officials.

Ruling

The court granted the plaintiffs’ consent motion for final approval. It approved the parties’ settlement agreement and release as a fair, reasonable, and adequate resolution of bona fide disputes. It separately approved the individual settlements of Brandon Gageby, Kevin Gageby, Noah Jones, Austin Kadlec, and David Shindley as fair, reasonable, and adequate resolutions of their wage-and-hour claims.

The court also approved a $5,000 service award to named plaintiff Robert Collins. It found the attorney-fee rates sought by plaintiffs’ counsel reasonable and approved an award of fees and costs equal to one-third of the gross settlement value. In addition, it awarded plaintiffs’ counsel $3,987.80 for litigation costs and awarded the settlement administrator $9,500 for fees and costs.

The parties were ordered to carry out the settlement terms. The court dismissed the matter and all claims asserted in it with prejudice and directed that judgment be entered.