Jantos v. DirecTV et al, No. 2:2018cv00413 - Document 56 (W.D. Wash. 2019)
Court Description: ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT. The parties' 50 Joint Motion for Final Approval of Settlement is GRANTED. The Court finds that the Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, and in the best interests of the Sett lement Class as a whole. Plaintiff's 47 Motion for attorney fees, costs, and incentive award is GRANTED. The claims in this matter are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, except as to June Williams, who has opted out of the Settlement, and the Clerk is DIRECTED to close this case. Signed by Judge Thomas S. Zilly. (PM)
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Jantos v. DirecTV et al Doc. 56 HON. THOMAS S. ZILLY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 8 9 10 JAMES JANTOS, individually, and on behalf of similarly situated individuals, 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Plaintiff, v. NO. 2:18-cv-00413-TSZ ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT DIRECTV, a Delaware Corporation; DIRECTV, LLC, a California Limited Liability Corporation; and QWEST CORPORATION d/b/a CENTURYLINK QC, a Colorado Corporation, Defendants. 18 THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the Parties’ joint motion for final 19 approval of the proposed class settlement (the “Settlement”), docket no. 50, and 20 Plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees, costs, and incentive award, docket no. 47. The Court 21 has considered all papers filed in support of such motions, and is fully informed 22 regarding the facts surrounding the proposed Settlement. Based upon this information, 23 the Court has determined to approve the proposed Settlement as fair, reasonable and 24 adequate. The Court hereby enters this Order, which constitutes a final adjudication 25 concerning the parties’ Settlement. 26 ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT - 1 [Case No. 2:18-cv-00413-TSZ] SIRIANNI YOUTZ SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER PLLC 701 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 2560 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104 TEL. (206) 223-0303 FAX (206) 223-0246 Dockets.Justia.com 1 On December 12, 2018, Plaintiff James Jantos, on behalf of himself and the 2 Settlement Class, and Defendants DIRECTV, DIRECTV, LLC, and QWEST 3 CORPORATION d/b/a CENTURYLINK QC (“Defendants”) (collectively, “the 4 Parties”), executed an Amended Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release of All 5 Claims (“Settlement Agreement” or “Agreement”). All defined terms in this Order (i.e., 6 all capitalized words or phrases introduced within quotation marks) shall have the same 7 definitions and meanings as those set forth in the Parties’ Settlement Agreement. 8 This Court granted preliminary approval to the proposed class action settlement 9 between the Parties in its Order Granting Preliminary Approval of Class Action 10 Settlement (docket no. 46) (“Preliminary Approval Order”). The proposed Settlement 11 resolves all of the Settlement Class’s and the DIRECTV Subclass’s claims against 12 Defendants in exchange for specified benefits outlined in the Settlement Agreement. The 13 Court also certified the Settlement Class and the DIRECTV Subclass for settlement 14 purposes only, appointed Plaintiff James Jantos as the Class Representative of the 15 Settlement Class and the DIRECTV Subclass, and appointed the law firms of Sirianni 16 Youtz Spoonemore Hamburger, and Myers & Company, PLLC as Class Counsel for the 17 Settlement Class and the DIRECTV Subclass. 18 The Court held a fairness hearing on June 14, 2019, to consider whether to grant 19 final approval to the Settlement. The Court heard argument from counsel for the Parties 20 concerning the Settlement. No other person appeared to object, to support, or comment 21 on the Settlement. 22 Having read, reviewed and considered the papers filed in support of final 23 approval of the Settlement, to which no written objection was filed, the Settlement 24 Agreement, and the pleadings, the Court now FINDS, CONCLUDES, AND ORDERS as 25 follows: 26 ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT - 2 [Case No. 2:18-cv-00413-TSZ] SIRIANNI YOUTZ SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER PLLC 701 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 2560 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104 TEL. (206) 223-0303 FAX (206) 223-0246 CERTIFICATION OF THE SETTLEMENT CLASS 1 A. This Court confirms that the proposed Settlement satisfies the 2 requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, as found in the Court’s Preliminary Approval Order. 3 Accordingly, this Court makes final its conditional certification of the “Settlement Class” 4 and the “DIRECTV Subclass” as defined in its Preliminary Approval Order. 5 B. One member of the Settlement Class, June Williams, has timely requested 6 to be excluded from the Class and the Settlement. Accordingly, this Order and the 7 Settlement shall not bind or affect June Williams. 8 APPROVAL OF CLASS AND CAFA NOTICE 9 C. The Settlement Administrator completed the delivery of Class Notice 10 according to the terms of the Settlement Agreement and the Preliminary Approval 11 Order. The Notice given to the Settlement Class, which set forth the principal terms of 12 the Settlement Agreement and other matters, was the best practicable notice under the 13 circumstances. 14 D. The Class Notice, FAQ, and Settlement Website fairly, accurately, and 15 reasonably informed members of the Settlement Class of (1) appropriate information 16 about the nature of this litigation and the essential terms of the Settlement Agreement; 17 (2) appropriate information about how to obtain additional information regarding this 18 matter and the Settlement Agreement; and (3) appropriate information about how to 19 challenge, or exclude themselves from, the Settlement, if they wished to do so. The Class 20 Notice and Settlement Website also fairly and adequately informed members of the 21 Settlement Class that if they did not comply with the specified procedures and deadline 22 for excluding themselves from the Settlement, they would be bound by the Settlement 23 and lose any opportunity to bring any of the “Released Claims” against the “Released 24 Parties.” 25 26 ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT - 3 [Case No. 2:18-cv-00413-TSZ] SIRIANNI YOUTZ SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER PLLC 701 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 2560 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104 TEL. (206) 223-0303 FAX (206) 223-0246 1 E. The notice program for publishing the Class Notice on the Settlement 2 Website and for mailing and emailing (if Defendants could reasonably verify an email 3 address) the Class Notice to Settlement Class Members is fair and reasonable. The notice 4 program was reasonably calculated under the circumstances to apprise Class Members 5 of the pendency of this action, all material elements of the Settlement, and their 6 opportunity to exclude themselves from, object to, or comment on the Settlement and 7 appear at the final fairness hearing. There is no additional mode of distribution that 8 would be reasonably likely to notify members of the Settlement Class who did not 9 receive notice pursuant to the notice program. The notice program satisfies the notice 10 11 requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e) and all applicable federal law. F. The Court has afforded a full opportunity to all Class Members to be heard. 12 Accordingly, the Court determines that all members of the Settlement Class, except June 13 Williams, who timely excluded herself from the Class, are bound by this Final Order. 14 G. Within ten (10) days after the filing of the proposed Settlement Agreement 15 in this Court, Defendants directed the Settlement Administrator to serve a notice of the 16 proposed Settlement upon the appropriate state official of each State in which a Class 17 member resides and upon the Attorney General of the United States. The Court finds 18 that the notice provided by Defendants satisfied the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 1715(b) 19 and that more than ninety (90) days have elapsed since Defendants provided the 20 required notice, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1715(d). 21 22 ABSENCE OF ANY ADMISSION; DENIAL OF ANY WRONGFUL ACT OR OMISSION AND OF ANY LIABILITY The Parties entered into the Settlement Agreement solely for the purpose of 23 compromising and settling disputed claims. Defendants have at all times denied, and 24 continue to deny, any wrongful act or omission alleged by Plaintiff in the State and 25 Federal Actions, and any liability of any sort to Plaintiff or any member of the Settlement 26 ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT - 4 [Case No. 2:18-cv-00413-TSZ] SIRIANNI YOUTZ SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER PLLC 701 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 2560 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104 TEL. (206) 223-0303 FAX (206) 223-0246 1 Class. Nothing contained in the Settlement Agreement, in the documents relating to the 2 Settlement Agreement, or in this Order shall be construed, deemed, or offered as an 3 admission by the Parties, or by any member of the Settlement Class, for any purpose in 4 any judicial or administrative action or proceeding, whether in law or in equity. In 5 entering this Order with this provision and other limiting provisions, this Court 6 specifically refers to and invokes the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States 7 Constitution and the doctrine of comity and requests that any court in any other 8 jurisdiction reviewing, construing, or applying this Order implement and enforce each 9 such limiting provision. 10 11 FINAL APPROVAL OF THE TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT A. Defendants have at all times disputed, and continue to dispute, Plaintiff’s 12 allegations in this lawsuit, deny any liability for any of the claims that have or could have 13 been alleged by Plaintiff or other members of the Settlement Class, and maintain that no 14 customers suffered any actual damages as a result of the online availability of their 15 CenturyLink bill. 16 B. The Court has considered Plaintiff’s standing under Article III. The Court 17 concludes that it has jurisdiction over this dispute and, therefore, has the power to 18 approve the Settlement. 19 C. The Settlement requires Defendants to provide specified benefits to each 20 Participating Settlement Class Member, as defined and set forth in the Settlement 21 Agreement. 22 1. All Settlement Class Members that have not excluded themselves 23 from the Settlement will receive an activation code for one year of 24 three-bureau credit monitoring service and $1 million in identity 25 theft insurance, which has an approximate retail value of $180. 26 ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT - 5 [Case No. 2:18-cv-00413-TSZ] SIRIANNI YOUTZ SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER PLLC 701 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 2560 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104 TEL. (206) 223-0303 FAX (206) 223-0246 2. 1 All DIRECTV Subclass members that have not excluded themselves 2 from the Settlement will receive, in addition to the ability to activate 3 credit monitoring service and identity theft insurance, $520 in the 4 form of a credit to their CenturyLink bill if they are a Current 5 CenturyLink Customer. Current CenturyLink Customers may seek 6 distribution of any credit balance on their account in accordance 7 with the usual policies and procedures of CenturyLink for 8 refunding credit balances. The initial determination of who qualifies 9 as a Current CenturyLink Customer will be based upon CenturyLink’s records as of the date of this Order. 10 3. 11 All DIRECTV Subclass members who are no longer Current 12 CenturyLink Customers as of the date that the class benefit is 13 provided to Settlement Class Members will receive, in addition to 14 the ability to activate credit monitoring service and identity theft 15 insurance, $520 payable by check. 16 D. Defendants have already identified all Settlement Class Members and all 17 DIRECTV Subclass members and, therefore, no Settlement Class Member or DIRECTV 18 Subclass member has been or will be required to prove their eligibility to receive the 19 benefits stated herein. 20 E. Accordingly, taking into account (1) the adequate representation of the 21 class by Class Representative James Jantos and Class Counsel; (2) the arms’-length 22 negotiation of the Settlement; (3) the adequacy of the relief provided for the Settlement 23 Class and DIRECTV Subclass, taking into account: (a) the costs, risks, and delay of trial 24 and appeal; (b) the effectiveness of the proposed method of distributing relief to the 25 class; (c) the terms of the proposed award of attorney’s fees, including timing of 26 payment; and (d) the lack of any side-agreements required to be identified under ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT - 6 [Case No. 2:18-cv-00413-TSZ] SIRIANNI YOUTZ SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER PLLC 701 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 2560 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104 TEL. (206) 223-0303 FAX (206) 223-0246 1 Rule 23(e)(3); and (4) the Settlement’s equitable treatment of class members relative to 2 each other, the Court finds that the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. 3 Moreover, the Parties reached the Settlement after litigating the claims and defenses 4 raised in this case and corresponding State Action, both formal and informal discovery 5 conducted by the Plaintiff, Class Counsel, and Defendants, and an arm’s-length 6 negotiation that included a full-day mediation session and follow-on negotiations. 7 Further, the Parties reached the terms of the Settlement Agreement as they applied to 8 Settlement Class Members without reaching any agreement regarding the reasonable 9 amount of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses to be awarded to Class Counsel, which 10 further confirms that the Settlement is the product of an arms-length negotiation process. 11 Finally, the Settlement Class Members have had a very positive reaction to the 12 Settlement; only one Settlement Class Member has requested exclusion and none has 13 submitted an objection. For all these reasons, the Settlement falls within the appropriate 14 range of possible approval and does not appear in any way to be the product of collusion. 15 F. Accordingly, the Court hereby GRANTS the parties’ joint motion for final 16 approval of the Settlement, docket no. 50, and finds that the Settlement is fair, reasonable 17 and adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class as a whole. 18 G. Class Representative James Jantos, and members of the Settlement Class 19 who have not timely excluded themselves, shall be deemed to have released and 20 discharged the Released Parties from any and all liability with respect to the Released 21 Claims as set forth and defined in Paragraph I.BB and Section XI of the Settlement 22 Agreement. 23 24 25 26 H. Defendants shall provide the benefits due to eligible Settlement Class Members in accordance with and at the times prescribed by the Settlement Agreement. I. Plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees, costs, and incentive award, docket no. 47, is GRANTED, and Defendants shall pay Class Counsel’s fees and costs in the ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT - 7 [Case No. 2:18-cv-00413-TSZ] SIRIANNI YOUTZ SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER PLLC 701 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 2560 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104 TEL. (206) 223-0303 FAX (206) 223-0246 1 amount of $150,000 and the $10,000 incentive fee to Class Representative James Jantos, 2 in accordance with and at the times prescribed by the Settlement Agreement. 3 J. The claims in this matter are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, except as to 4 June Williams, who has opted out of the Settlement, and the Clerk is DIRECTED to close 5 this case. 6 IT IS SO ORDERED. 7 8 Dated this 14th day of June, 2019. A 9 10 Thomas S. Zilly United States District Judge 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT - 8 [Case No. 2:18-cv-00413-TSZ] SIRIANNI YOUTZ SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER PLLC 701 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 2560 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104 TEL. (206) 223-0303 FAX (206) 223-0246 1 2 Presented by: SIRIANNI YOUTZ SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER PLLC WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 3 4 5 6 7 s/ Richard E. Spoonemore Richard E. Spoonemore (WSBA #21833) 701 Fifth Ave., Suite 2560 Seattle, WA 98104 Telephone: 206.223.0303 Facsimile: 206.223.0246 Email: rspoonemore@sylaw.com s/ Kathryn A. Reilly Kathryn A. Reilly (admitted pro hac vice) Jennifer J. Oxley (admitted pro hac vice) 370 Seventeenth Street, Suite 4500 Denver, CO 80202-5647 Telephone: 303.244.1800 Email: reilly@wtotrial.com oxley@wtotrial.com MYERS & COMPANY, PLLC PERKINS COIE s/ Michael David Myers Michael David Myers (WSBA #22486) 1530 Eastlake Ave. East Seattle, WA 98102 Telephone: 206.398.1188 Facsimile: 206.400.1115 s/ Amanda J. Beane Erin K. Earl, WSBA No. 49341 Todd M. Hinnen, WSBA No. 27176 Amanda J. Beane, WSBA No. 33070 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 4900 Seattle, WA 98101 Telephone: 206.359.3384 Email: eearl@perkinscoie.com thinnen@perkinscoie.com abeane@perkinscoie.com 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Attorneys for Plaintiff James Jantos 15 16 Attorneys for Defendant Qwest Corporation d/b/a CenturyLink QC 17 18 CORR CRONIN, LLP 19 s/ Emily J. Harris Emily J. Harris, WSBA No. 35763 Jordan M. Hallstrom, WSBA No. 48036 1001 Fourth Avenue, Suite 3900 Seattle, WA 98154 Telephone: 206.625.8600 Email: eharris@corrcronin.com jhallstrom@corrcronin.com 20 21 22 23 24 Attorneys for Defendant DIRECTV and DIRECTV, LLC 25 26 ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT - 9 [Case No. 2:18-cv-00413-TSZ] SIRIANNI YOUTZ SPOONEMORE HAMBURGER PLLC 701 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 2560 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104 TEL. (206) 223-0303 FAX (206) 223-0246
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