United States District Court, D. Colorado
ALANNAH BLANKS, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff,
v.
MACHOL & JOHANNES, LLC, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL
OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND FOR CLASS
CERTIFICATION
CHRISTINE M. ARGU LLO UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This
matter is before the Court on the parties' Joint Motion
for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement. (Doc. #
33.) Having reviewed the Joint Motion for Preliminary
Approval, the Court grants the parties' Joint Motion and
preliminarily approves the Settlement Agreement (Doc. #
34-1).
For the
reasons set forth in the Joint Motion, the Settlement
Agreement is preliminarily approved as fair, reasonable, and
adequate under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a). The
Court preliminarily finds that:
a. The proposed settlement was fairly and honestly negotiated
and is the product of extensive arms' length, informed,
non-collusive negotiations between experienced counsel;
b. Serious questions of law and fact exist, including issues
of standing and whether the actions allege constitute
actionable violations of either the FCRA or FDCPA, placing
the ultimate outcome of the litigation in doubt;
c. The value of the immediate recovery, which includes
approximately $56, 000 of monetary relief as well as
programmatic changes, outweighs the mere possibility of
future relief after protracted and expensive litigation; and
d. The parties and their experienced counsel have judged the
settlement to be fair, reasonable and adequate.
The
Court certifies for settlement purposes the proposed
settlement classes-the “FCRA Settlement Class”
and the “FDCPA Settlement Class, ” as defined in
the Joint Motion (collectively, the “Settlement
Classes”)-under Rules 23(a) and 23(b)(3). For the
reasons set forth in the Joint Motion, the Court finds that
these classes satisfy the requirements for an opt-out class
under Rule 23(b)(3).
The
Court appoints Plaintiff Alannah Blanks as Class
Representative. The Court appoints Thomas J. Lyons Jr. of the
law firm Consumer Justice Center, P.A., 367 Commerce Ct.,
Vadnais Heights, Minnesota, 55127, as Class Counsel pursuant
to Rule 23(g). The Court finds that Mr. Lyons will fairly and
accurately represent of the Settlement Classes for the
reasons identified in the Joint Motion. The Court also
approves Analytics Consulting LLC as the Settlement
Administrator.
The
Court approves the proposed Class Notice (Doc. # 34-2),
finding that it satisfies the legal standards required by
Rule 23(c)(2)(B) and the Due Process Clause of the
Constitution. Pursuant to Rule 23(e)(1), the Court also
approves that parties' proposed settlement timeline for
disseminating the Class Notice, seeking final approval, and
dispersing settlement payments to class members. See
(Doc. # 33 at 7-8.)
Accordingly,
the Court ORDERS as follows:
1.
Defendant shall provide the notices and materials to the
appropriate state and federal officials required by the Class
Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”), 28 U.S.C. §
1715(d) by May 3, 2019, and shall file a declaration with the
Court by May 10, 2019, identifying the officials to whom the
materials were sent, and the date on which the materials
sent. For the purpose of providing such notices and
materials, the appropriate state and federal officials under
CAFA, 28 U.S.C. § 1715(a) and (b), are the Attorney
General of the United States and the Attorney General of the
State of Colorado.
2.
Within ten (10) days of the date of this Order, Defendant
shall provide the Settlement Administrator and Class Counsel
with the names and last known addresses for the members of
the Settlement Classes. The Settlement Administrator will
thereafter mail the Class Notice to the members of the
Settlement Classes.
3. The
Settlement Administrator shall submit a declaration to the
Court confirming its compliance with the notice procedures of
this ...