Beltran v. Interexchange, Inc.
United States District Court, D. Colorado
July 18, 2019
JOHANA PAOLA BELTRAN, LUSAPHO HLATSHANENI, BEAUDETTE DEETLEFS, ALEXANDRA IVETTE GONZALEZ, JULIANE HARNING, NICOLE MAPLEDORAM, LAURA MEJIA JIMENEZ, SARAH CAROLINE AZUELA RASCON, CAMILA GABRIELA PEREZ REYES, CATHY CARAMELO, LINDA ELIZABETH, And those similarly situated, Plaintiffs,
v.
INTEREXCHANGE, INC., USAUPAIR, INC., GREATAUPAIR, LLC, EXPERT GROUP INTERNATIONAL INC., d/b/a Expert AuPair, EURAUPAIR INTERCULTURAL CHILD CARE PROGRAMS, CULTURAL HOMESTAY INTERNATIONAL, CULTURAL CARE, INC., d/b/a Cultural Care Au Pair, AUPAIRCARE INC., AU PAIR INTERNATIONAL, INC., APF GLOBAL EXCHANGE, NFP, d/b/a/ Aupair Foundation, AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR FOREIGN STUDY, d/b/a Au Pair in America, AMERICAN CULTURAL EXCHANGE, LLC, d/b/a GoAuPair, AGENT AU PAIR, A.P.E.X. AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL EXCHANGE, LLC, d/b/a ProAuPair, 20/20 CARE EXCHANGE, INC., d/b/a The International Au Pair Exchange, ASSOCIATES IN CULTURAL EXCHANGE, d/b/a GoAuPair, and GOAUPAIR OPERATIONS, LLC, d/b/a GoAuPair, Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS AND COLLECTIVE
ACTION SETTLEMENT
CHRISTINE M. ARGUELLO UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This
matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs' Motion for
Final Approval of Class and Collective Action Settlement.
(Doc. # 1205.) The parties reached a Settlement Agreement on
January 9, 2019, as a result of intensive, non-collusive,
arm's length negotiations facilitated by United States
Magistrate Judge Michael E Hegarty. (Doc. # 1208-1 at 2-49)
The Court gave its preliminary approval to the Settlement
Agreement on January 23, 2019 (Doc. # 1191), and the parties
subsequently sent the Settlement Notice to potential class
members and collected claim forms and requests for exclusion
from them. On May 16, 2019, Plaintiffs filed the Motion for
Final Approval of Class and Collective Action Settlement
presently before the Court. (Doc. # 1205.) The Court heard
argument on Plaintiffs' request for final approval of the
Settlement Agreement on July 18, 2019. See (Doc. #
1228.)
Being
intimately familiar with the lengthy, labyrinthine history of
this matter and having thoroughly reviewed the Settlement
Agreement, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs' Motion for Final
Approval of Class and Collective Action Settlement. (Doc. #
1205.) It is FURTHER ORDERED that:
1. The
Court finally approves the class and collective action
settlement. This Court also finally certifies the Fair Labor
Standards Act (“FLSA”) classes that were
conditionally certified in this action. See (Doc. ##
525, 539, 569.)
2. Any
capitalized term that is not defined in this Order shall have
the meaning provided in the Settlement Agreement.
3. The
Court confirms that it has jurisdiction over this matter and
the parties to it.
4. This
Court approves the terms of the Settlement Agreement, and the
Plan of Allocation, the material terms of which include, but
are not limited to:
a. Class Counsel will establish a Qualified Settlement Fund
(“QSF”);
b. Defendants will pay their respective shares of the
settlement amount, which totals $65, 500, 000, into the QSF;
c. Within thirty (30) days after the Effective Date, and
going forward, Defendants (and their agents, where
applicable) will provide a statement to host families and au
pairs to the effect that the weekly au pair stipend is a
minimum payment requirement and host families and au pairs
are free to agree to compensation higher than the legally
applicable minimum.
d. From the QSF, Class Counsel will receive attorneys'
fees of $22, 925, 000, representing 35% of the
QSF;[1]
each of the eleven class representatives will receive a
service award of $5, 000; each of the FLSA deponents will
receive a service award of $1, 000 (unless they are a class
representative); and each FLSA opt-in plaintiff will receive
$100 (unless they were deposed). The awards to class
representatives, FLSA deponents, and FLSA opt-ins shall be in
addition to any funds they receive as members of the Rule 23
Class Action;
e. Class Counsel's litigation expenses, as well as
Expenses for administration of the settlement and sending of
notice pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1715 will be deducted
from the QSF;
f. $536 shall be taxed from the QSF in favor of the United
States and payable into the Court to repay the filing and
service costs the Court previously waived;
g. The remainder of the QSF will be distributed to Class
Members, as detailed in the ...