Denham v. Global Distribution Services, Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA RYAN GARY DENHAM, et al., CASE NO. 18cv1495-LAB-MDD Plaintiffs, 11 ORDER VACATING FINAL 12 vs. PRETRIAL CONFERENCE AND REQUIRING BRIEFING ON GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION INCENTIVE AWARDS SERVICES, INC. d/b/a AMERICA’S ALLIANCE d/b/a AMERICA’S CHOICE GARAGE DOOR SERVICE, et al., Defendants.

18 Plaintiffs’ Motion for Final Approval of the Collective Action Settlement seeks unspecified incentive awards for Plaintiff Ryan Gary Denham and two opt-in Plaintiffs, Luis Cisneros and Timothy Patterson. Plaintiffs typically “must justify an incentive award through ‘evidence demonstrating the quality of plaintiff’s representative service,’ such as substantial efforts taken . . . to justify the discrepancy between his award and those of the unnamed plaintiffs.”

24 Bellinghausen v. Tractor Supply Co., 306 F.R.D. 245, 266 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 20, 2015). This requirement applies with special force where (as here) the plaintiffs seek awards amounting to more than 1% of the total settlement fund. See, e.g., Ontiveros v. Zamora, 303 F.R.D. 356, 365 (“A[n] . . . incentive award consisting || Liquidators, Inc., Case No. CV-09-4812 SC, 2015 WL 2174168, at *4 (N.D. ||Cal. May 8, 2015) (“[l]Jncentive awards at or near just one percent of the || common fund payable to the class ‘will receive intense scrutiny and require || exceptional justification.”).

5 Plaintiffs provide no such evidence, offering only the vague statement of || counsel that Denham, Cisneros, and Patterson “contributed [services] to the || case, including but not limited to, investigative work, meetings with Collective || Action Counsel, assumption of risk, and for serving as representatives of the || Settlement Opt-In Plaintiffs.” (Dkt. 100-1 at 16.)

10 Plaintiffs may supplement their briefing with evidence of the efforts that || Denham, Cisneros, and Patterson made in support of this litigation on or before || April 30, 2021. In light of the pending motion for approval of the parties’ || settlement, the final pretrial conference scheduled for April 26, 2021 is || VACATED.

15 IT IS SO ORDERED.

47 || Dated: April 20, 2021 bi A. ‘b wy 18 Hon. LARRY ALAN BURNS 49 United States District Judge