1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 D.J., Case No. 24-cv-02660-LJC

8 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO 9 v. APPROVE MINOR’S COMPROMISE

10 SPECTRUM, Re: Dkt. No. 93 Defendant. 11

12 The parties in this disability discrimination case reached a settlement, subject to the 13 Court’s approval, with Defendant agreeing to pay minor Plaintiff $55,000. See ECF No. 93 at 3. 14 Of the $55,000, $19,000 will be paid to Plaintiff’s attorney, Nicole Hodge Amey. Id. Because 15 Plaintiff D.J. is a minor, the Court must independently assess if the proposed settlement “serves 16 the best interests of” D.J. Dacanay v. Mendoza,

(9th Cir. 1978). The focus 17 of the Court’s assessment is on “the net recovery of the minor plaintiffs under the proposed 18 agreement,” not “the amount of attorney’s fees provided for in a settlement.” Robidoux v. 19 Rosengren,

, 1181 (9th Cir. 2011). The Court must evaluate “whether the net 20 amount distributed to each minor plaintiff in the settlement is fair and reasonable, in light of the 21 facts of the case, the minor’s specific claim, and recovery in similar cases.” Id. “So long as the 22 net recovery to each minor plaintiff is fair and reasonable in light of their claims and average 23 recovery in similar cases, the district court should approve the settlement as proposed by the 24 parties.” Id. The Court is not obligated to evaluate the award to plaintiff’s counsel, as the “district 25 court has no special duty to safeguard” counsel’s interests. Id. 26 The Court previously directed Plaintiff to submit supplemental filings in a text-only Order 27 (ECF No. 94), a subsequent written Order (ECF No. 96), and at the October 23, 2025 hearing. 1 23 hearing, the Court finds the net settlement fair and reasonable to Plaintiff D.J. in light of his 2 || claims, the facts of the case, and other plaintiffs’ recovery in similar cases. Plaintiffs Motion is 3 GRANTED, and the proposed settlement is APPROVED. Defendant Spectrum shall pay $55,000 4 || in accordance with the parties’ settlement agreement, and the parties shall file a stipulation of 5 dismissal. 6 If the case has not been dismissed, a status conference will occur on December 18, 2025 at 7 1:30 PM via Zoom webinar videoconference. 8 IT IS SO ORDERED. 9 Dated: October 28, 2025 10 1 a [sary ‘A J. CISNEROS 12 ited States Magistrate Judge

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