Ronquillo-Griffin et al v. TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc. et al, No. 3:2017cv00129 - Document 71 (S.D. Cal. 2018)
Court Description: ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT. Final Approval Hearing set for 5/6/2019 at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 5D before Judge Jeffrey T. Miller. Signed by Judge Jeffrey T. Miller on 11/1/2018. (sjm)
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Ronquillo-Griffin et al v. TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc. et al Doc. 71 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 KELLISA RONQUILLOGRIFFIN, KHOI NGUYEN, and RUSSELL SMITH, Individually and On Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, v. Plaintiffs, TRANSUNION RENTAL SCREENING SOLUTIONS, INC. and TRANSATEL (BARBADOS), INC., Case No.: 3:17-cv-129-JM-BLM CLASS ACTION ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT Judge: Hon. Jeffrey T. Miller Defendants. 21 22 Plaintiffs Kelissa Ronquillo a/k/a Kelissa Ronquillo-Griffin (“Ronquillo”), 23 Khoi Nguyen (“Nguyen”), and Russell Smith (“Smith”), individually and on behalf 24 of Class Members (collectively, “Plaintiffs” or “Class Representatives”), filed a 25 Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement and Certification of 26 Settlement Class (hereinafter referred to as the “Preliminary Approval Motion”) in 27 the above-captioned action (the “Action”). The Preliminary Approval Motion was 28 unopposed by Defendants TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc. (“TURSS”) ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT CASE NO.: 3:17-CV-129-JM-BLM 1 Dockets.Justia.com 1 and Transactel (Barbados), Inc. (“Transactel”) (collectively, “Defendants”). 2 The Court has read and considered the Settlement Agreement and Release (the 3 “Settlement Agreement” or “Agreement”), the Preliminary Approval Motion, and 4 supporting documents. 5 NOW, THEREFORE IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND 6 DECREED THAT: 7 I. 8 Action and over all settling parties hereto. All capitalized terms used herein 9 have the meanings defined herein and / or in the Agreement. JURISDICTION: The Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of the 10 II. 11 PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT: The Court 12 conditions set forth in the Agreement and the exhibits thereto, is in all 13 respects fundamentally fair, reasonable, adequate and in the best interests of 14 the Settlement Class Members, taking into consideration the benefits to 15 Settlement Class Members; the strength and weaknesses of Plaintiffs’ case; 16 the complexity, expense and probable duration of further litigation; and the 17 risk and delay inherent in possible appeals. The Court finds that notice of the 18 Settlement should be given to persons in the Settlement Class and a full 19 hearing should be held on approval of the Settlement. The provisions of the 20 Settlement Agreement are preliminarily approved and the Parties shall comply 21 22 III. 23 24 25 26 27 28 preliminarily finds that the Settlement of the Action, on the terms and with its terms. SETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATOR: The Court approves the selection of Kurtzman Carson Consultants, LLC (“KCC”) to be the Settlement Administrator. The Settlement Administrator will administer the applicable provisions of the Agreement in accordance with the terms of the Agreement, including, but not limited to, distributing and providing the class notice, receiving and examining claims, calculating claims against the Common Fund, preparing and issuing all disbursements of the Common Fund to ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT CASE NO.: 3:17-CV-129-JM-BLM 2 1 Authorized Claimants, and handling inquiries from Settlement Class 2 Members. All reasonable fees and costs of the Settlement Administrator shall 3 be paid from the Common Fund. 4 IV. In compliance with the Class Action Fairness Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1715, and as set 5 forth in the Agreement, Defendants, themselves or through their designee, are 6 ordered to serve written notice of the proposed settlement on the U.S. Attorney 7 General and the appropriate California state official, unless such notice has 8 already been served. 9 V. CLASS MEMBERS: Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3), the Action is hereby 10 preliminarily and conditionally certified, for settlement purposes only, as a 11 class action on behalf of the following Settlement Class Members: 12 13 All persons in California who, during the period from 14 January 24, 2016 through February 8, 2017, were called 15 by Transactel on behalf of TURSS on their cellular 16 telephones and spoke with a representative. 17 18 Excluded from the Settlement Class are the Judges to 19 whom the Action is assigned and any member of the 20 Judges’ staffs and immediate families, as well as all 21 persons who validly request exclusion from the Settlement 22 Class. 23 24 VI. CLASS REPRESENTATIVES AND CLASS COUNSEL APPOINTMENT: 25 For purposes of the Court considering preliminary approval, the Court 26 appoints Plaintiffs as the Class Representatives and Kazerouni Law Group, 27 APC (Abbas Kazerounian, Esq. and Jason A. Ibey, Esq.), Hyde & Swigart 28 (Joshua B. Swigart, Esq.) and Law Office of Daniel G. Shay (Daniel G. Shay, ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT CASE NO.: 3:17-CV-129-JM-BLM 3 1 Esq.), as Class Counsel. 2 VII. NOTICE AND CLAIMS PROCESS: The Court approves the form, content 3 and method of notice set forth in the Agreement. If they have not already done 4 so, Defendants shall provide the Class List and Cell Phone Number List to the 5 Settlement Administrator within thirty (30) days of this Order granting 6 preliminary approval. The Court finds that the furnishing of information by 7 Defendants to the Settlement Administrator for purposes of giving notice to 8 Settlement Class Members or otherwise to administer the Settlement does not 9 violate 15 U.S.C. § 1681b because the furnishing of information is pursuant 10 to this Order, and because it is not the furnishing of consumer reports 11 otherwise governed by 15 U.S.C. § 1681b. No later than sixty (60) days after 12 the date of this Order, the Settlement Administrator shall establish the 13 Settlement Website. No later than sixty (60) days after the date of this Order, 14 the Settlement Administrator shall send by regular mail the Class Notice and 15 Claim Form to each person in the Class List at their last known address as 16 provided by Defendants or as updated by the Settlement Administrator 17 through the National Change of Address Database or otherwise. Any Class 18 Notices that are returned as non-deliverable with a forwarding address shall 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 promptly be re-mailed by the Settlement Administrator to such forwarding address. As for Settlement Class Members who are not identified in the Class List but whose cellular phone numbers are contained on the Cell Phone Number List, the Settlement Administrator shall use such methods as it determines are practicable (which may include a reverse-directory lookup and/or skip tracing) to attempt to match those unmatched telephone numbers to names and addresses. As to Settlement Class Members whose names and addresses are not located through such methods, the Settlement Administrator shall provide notice by the Settlement Website. The Settlement Website shall contain the full details of the Settlement and permit the filing of claims on the ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT CASE NO.: 3:17-CV-129-JM-BLM 4 1 website. If the mail attempts at notice are unsuccessful, and/or a Settlement 2 Class Member otherwise fails to follow the procedures set forth in this 3 Agreement for submitting a claim or requesting exclusion from the Settlement 4 Class, the Settlement Website shall provide notice and the Settlement Class 5 Member shall be deemed a member of the Settlement Class whose rights and 6 claims with respect to the issues raised in this action will be determined by 7 the Court’s final Order approving the settlement of the class claim and this 8 Action, and the Judgment, and by the other rulings in the Action. With their 9 Motion for Final Approval of Settlement, Class Counsel shall file a 10 declaration from the Settlement Administrator detailing its compliance with 11 the notice procedures set forth in the Agreement. The Court finds that the 12 form, content and method of notice set forth in the Agreement satisfy the 13 requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(2), the Constitution of the United States, 14 and any other applicable laws, and due process, and constitutes the best notice 15 practicable under the circumstances. 16 Agreement and approved herein provide a means of notice reasonably 17 calculated to apprise the Settlement Class Members of the pendency of the 18 action and the proposed settlement, and thereby meet the requirements of Fed. 19 20 21 22 The forms of notice set forth in R. Civ. P. 23(c)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as due process under the United States Constitution, and any other applicable law, and shall constitute due and sufficient notice to all Settlement Class Members entitled thereto. 23 VIII. SETTLEMENT AND CLAIMS PROCESS: The Court preliminarily 24 approves the $425,000 Common Fund as fair, reasonable and adequate for 25 members of the Settlement Class. The Defendants shall deposit the Common 26 27 28 Fund with the Settlement Administrator within the timeframe set forth in the Agreement. The Court preliminarily approves the process set forth in the Agreement for reviewing, approving and paying claims from the Common ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT CASE NO.: 3:17-CV-129-JM-BLM 5 1 Fund. The last day submit claims shall be one hundred thirty (130) days after 2 the date of this order granting preliminary approval to the settlement. The 3 Court also preliminarily approves the service awards that will be sought by 4 Plaintiffs to be paid from the Common Fund. 5 IX. 6 CLASS CERTIFICATION: The Court preliminarily finds that the Action 7 Civ. P. 23, for purposes of settlement only. 8 X. 9 EXCLUSIONS: Any Settlement Class Member may request to be excluded satisfies the applicable prerequisites for class action treatment under Fed. R. from the Settlement Class (i.e., “opt out”) by mailing a letter or other writing, 10 by first class mail, to the Settlement Administrator containing the Settlement 11 Class Member’s name and address, and telephone number and a statement 12 that he or she requests to be excluded from the Settlement Class. Any such 13 request must be made in accordance with the terms set forth in the Class 14 Notice and will be timely only if postmarked no later than one hundred thirty 15 (130) days after the date of this Order granting preliminary approval of this 16 settlement and 17 Administrator shall provide the Parties with copies of all opt-out requests as 18 they are received and, no later than five (5) days after the Opt-Out Deadline, 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Agreement (the “Opt-OutDeadline”). The Settlement the Settlement Administrator shall provide Defense Counsel and Class Counsel with a list of the Settlement Class Members who have requested exclusion from the Settlement Class. Any Settlement Class Member who submits a valid and timely request for exclusion shall not be a member of the Settlement Class, and shall not be bound by the Agreement or Settlement. If more than 25 persons request exclusion from the Settlement Class by the OptOut Deadline, Defendants jointly but not severally shall have the option to terminate the Agreement and the settlement proceedings, and this Order shall be null and void and the settlement of no force and effect. Defendants shall give notice of such termination in writing to Class Counsel and the Settlement ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT CASE NO.: 3:17-CV-129-JM-BLM 6 1 Administrator no later than ten (10) days after the Opt-Out Deadline. 2 The notice of termination shall then promptly be filed with the Court by Class 3 Counsel. 4 XI. OBJECTIONS: Any Settlement Class Member may object to the terms of the 5 Settlement, including, but not limited to, the benefits to be paid to the 6 Settlement Class under the settlement, Class Counsel’s application for 7 attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses and the Class Representatives’ 8 service payments by mailing a written objection to the Settlement 9 Administrator. Any Settlement Class Member who wants to appear at the 10 Final Approval Hearing, either personally or through counsel, must so state in 11 his or her objection. Written objections must be mailed to the Settlement 12 Administrator no later than one hundred thirty (130) days after the date of this 13 Order granting preliminary approval of the settlement. The timeliness of 14 objections and notices shall be conclusively determined by the postmark date. 15 Class Counsel shall file with the Court any objections received with the 16 final approval motion papers. No later than one hundred sixty (160) days after 17 the date of this Order granting preliminary approval of the settlement, 18 the parties may file with the Court replies to any objections. 19 XII. Settlement Class Members who do not file their objections in the manner set 20 forth herein will be deemed to have waived all objections. 21 XIII. Class Counsel shall file a motion for approval of Class Representatives’ service 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 payments and application for attorneys’ fees and costs no later than one hundred (100) days after the date of this Order granting preliminary approval of the settlement. Class Counsel shall file a motion for final approval of settlement no later than one hundred fifty (150) days after the date of this order granting preliminary approval of the settlement. The motion for final approval of settlement and motion for attorney’s fees shall be posted on the Settlement Website by the Settlement Administrator so that they may be reviewed and ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT CASE NO.: 3:17-CV-129-JM-BLM 7 1 printed out by any member of the Settlement Class or any other person. 2 XIV. FINAL APPROVAL HEARING: The Court shall conduct a hearing 3 (hereinafter the “Final Approval Hearing”) on May 6, 2019, at 10:00 AM in 4 Courtroom 5D (5th Floor – Schwartz) of the United States District Court for 5 the Southern District of California, 221 West Broadway, San Diego, CA 6 92101. The Final Approval Hearing may be rescheduled or continued by the 7 Court without further notice to the Settlement Class Members. At the hearing, 8 the Court will consider the following issues: 9 A. Whether this action satisfies the applicable prerequisites for class 10 action treatment for settlement purposes under Fed. R. Civ. P 23; 11 B. Whether the proposed settlement is fundamentally fair, reasonable, 12 adequate, and in the best interest of the Settlement Class Members and 13 should be approved by the Court; 14 C. Whether the order granting final approval of class action settlement and 15 judgment, as provided under the Agreement, should be entered, 16 dismissing the Action with prejudice and releasing the Released 17 Claims against the Released Parties; and 18 D. Such other issues as the Court deems appropriate. 19 XV. Attendance at the Final Approval Hearing is not necessary. Settlement Class 20 Members need not appear at the hearing or take any other action to indicate 21 their approval of the proposed class action Settlement. 22 XVI. Pending the final determination of the fairness, reasonableness, and adequacy 23 of the proposed Settlement, no Settlement Class Member may prosecute, 24 25 institute, commence, or continue any lawsuit (individual action or class action) with respect to the Released Claims against any of the Defendants. 26 XVII. If the Agreement is not finally approved for any reason, then this Order shall 27 be vacated, the Agreement shall have no force and effect, and the Parties’ 28 rights and defenses shall be restored, without prejudice, to their respective ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT CASE NO.: 3:17-CV-129-JM-BLM 8 1 positions as if the Agreement had never been executed and this Order never 2 entered. 3 XVIII. The Court retains continuing and exclusive jurisdiction over the action to 4 consider all further matters arising out of or connected with the settlement, 5 including the administration and enforcement of the Agreement. 6 IT IS SO ORDERED. 7 Dated: November 1, 2018 8 9 _________________________ Jeffrey T. Miller United States District Judge 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT CASE NO.: 3:17-CV-129-JM-BLM 9
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