Lew v. Countrywide Financial Corporation et al
Filing
134
ORDER re 131 STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER Joint Stipulation to Dismiss Case in Entirety, with Prejudice to Plaintiff and the Qualified Opt-Ins Only filed by Countrywide Bank, N.A., Countrywide Bank, FSB, Full Spectrum Lending Division, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., Countrywide Financial Corporation. Signed by Judge Samuel Conti on 8/27/2012. (sclc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/27/2012)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SAMSON LEW, on behalf of
himself and classes of those
similarly situated,
United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL
CORPORATION, et al.,
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Defendants.
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) Case No. 08-1993
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) ORDER RE: JOINT STIPULATION
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Plaintiff Samson Lew ("Lew") brings this putative class action
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in connection with alleged violations of California's wage-and-hour
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laws and the Fair Labor Standards Act by Defendants Countrywide
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Financial Corporation and a number of other entities (collectively,
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"Defendants").
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to the putative class by submitting written consent forms (the
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"Qualified Opt-Ins").
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to dismiss the action in its entirety and with prejudice as to Lew
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and the Qualified Opt-Ins.
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Fifty-six individuals have affirmatively opted in
Now before the Court is a Joint Stipulation
ECF No. 131 ("Joint Stip.").
Pursuant to the Joint Stipulation of Settlement and Release
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("Settlement Agreement"), Defendants shall pay $99,000 to Lew, his
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attorneys, and the Qualified Opt-Ins.
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Settlement Agreement provides that Lew will receive $2,465.02,
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Plaintiff's counsel will receive $36,540, and the remainder will be
ECF No.
Specifically, the
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distributed among the Qualified Opt-Ins.
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Agreement") at 6-7.
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the Qualified Opt-Ins will release their claims against Defendants.
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Id. at 8-9.
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and avoid releasing their claims by returning their settlement
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checks to Plaintiff's counsel within the ninety-day check-cashing
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period prescribed by the Settlement Agreement.
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rights of the other putative class members will not be affected by
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the Settlement Agreement.
United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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Stip Ex. A ("Settlement
In consideration for these payments, Lew and
The Qualified Opt-Ins may opt out of the settlement
Id. at 9.
The
Having reviewed the papers submitted by the parties, the Court
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is concerned about the notice provided to the Qualified Opt-Ins.
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See ECF No. 133 Ex. A ("Notice").
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at least two messages: (1) the Qualified Opt-Ins' settlement checks
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expire ninety days from the date of issue; and (2) the Qualified
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Opt-Ins may opt out of the settlement by returning their settlement
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check to Plaintiffs' counsel within the ninety-day check cashing
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period.
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messages could easily be missed by a lay person.
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first page of the Notice does not even mention the possibility of
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opting out of the Settlement.
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where, exactly, the Qualified Opt-Ins should send their settlement
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checks if they wish to opt out or who they can contact if they have
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any questions.
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The Notice should clearly convey
In light of the legalese used in the Notice, these
Further, the
It is also unclear from the Notice
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The parties shall revise the Notice in accordance with this
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guidance.
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Stipulation pending the submission of the revised Notice.
The Court shall stay its consideration of the Joint
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated:
August 27, 2012
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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