We make no independent determination whether the settlement terms are “fair, adequate and reasonable,” but only determine whether the trial court acted within its discretion. Counsel believed this was a clear liability claim with a 100% chance of certification, valued at $83,847.29. The simple fact is that “‘[t]he proposed settlement cannot be judged without reference to the strength of plaintiffs’ claims’” (Kullar, supra, 168 Cal.App.4th at p. 130), and the strength of a claim cannot be judged without reference to the legal terrain in which it operates. [] Therefore, I think we do have a presumption of fairness. . Find Home Improvement Contractors for all your home improvement projects The enhancements for the named plaintiffs. On April 28, 2005, Clark and Gaines (collectively, Clark) filed their class action complaint against ARS and related defendants. ARS Rescue Rooter (Orlando Florida) Review & Complaint. Without some kind of evaluation of this legal point – and in light of declarations from objectors stating they worked at least 10 hours of overtime every week without compensation – we cannot see how the trial court could “satisfy itself that the class settlement is within the ‘ballpark’ of reasonableness.” (Kullar, supra, 168 Cal.App.4th at p.133. Footnotes may be omitted from rulings. Customer service contacts and company information. Notes: Tentative rulings are not final rulings. Heating and Air Conditioning in Memphis, TN. Case Number: BC444368 Hearing Date: July 15, 2014 Dept: 32 CASE NAME: Kerry White v. Hollister Co. CASE NO. requires a determination of the merits” which is “plainly impermissible and not an appropriate area of inquiry in determining whether a particular settlement agreement is fair.” ARS similarly argues that the trial court “wisely stayed within its discretion and did not make an improper ruling of law on the merits of the Plaintiffs’ and class members’ overtime claims.” Both Clark and ARS cite 7-Eleven Owners for Fair Franchising v. The Southland Corp. (2000) 85 Cal.App.4th 1135 (7-Eleven). Industrials. Required fields are marked *. Finally, on August 14, 2007, two weeks before the fairness hearing, class counsel Barnes submitted another declaration, evaluating the entire case at “approximately $2,351,605.61.” Barnes stated: As to overtime: While initially believing their strongest cause of action was for overtime compensation for service technicians, plaintiffs “have determined that there are no damages whatsoever for the overtime cause of action,” as ARS “had a legally compliant overtime policy and they actually paid overtime premium pay pursuant to their compensation policy.” Thus: ARS’s policy was to pay service technicians an hourly minimum wage, unless their revenue for commissions met a minimum threshold (either on a commissioned basis, or minimum wage plus overtime compensation, whichever was greater). American Residential Services at 15750 East Centre Tech Circle Aurora, CO 80111 did a furnace inspection/service at my house Monday 01/24/11. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and allowing us the opportunity to respond. Second, the trial court abused its discretion not merely because of the enormous disparity in recovery, but because, as we have explained, the evidence in the record is entirely insufficient to support an enhancement of the magnitude awarded. ADVISORS, INC, WHITFIELD DERICK PAYNE v. COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, SARAH L. KERLEY v. MARCIA ANN WEBER, PLOTTS REAL ESTATE, LP v. FRANCIS J. REIDY, LEONARD, DICKER & SCHREIBER LLP v. GUILLERMO MONTERO, SONJA COLBERT v. MARDEL REALTY AND LOANS, INC, SOON HAN PAK v. FIRST AMERICAN TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY, GAVIN LESTER GRANT v. BANK OF AMERICA, GAVIN LESTER GRANT v. CLEAR RECON CORP, 1040 N. WESTERN, LLC v. COBBY JACOB POURTAVOSI, Contra Costa Superior Court Tentative Rulings, Criminal Court News – Sacramento Public Records, Los Angeles Superior Court Tentative Rulings, Merced County Superior Court Tentative Ruling, Nevada County Superior Court Tentative Ruling, Sacramento Superior Court Civil Case Docket, Sacramento Superior Court Tentative Rulings, San Francisco Superior Court Tentative Ruling, San Luis Obispo Superior Court Tentative Ruling, San Mateo Superior Court Tentative Ruling, Santa Barbara Superior Court Tentative Ruling, Santa Clara Superior Court Tentative Ruling. . Therefore, even if a service technician worked as many as 20 hours of overtime work on a weekly basis, there would be no damages. After considering the motion, the response, the summary judgment record, and the applicable law, the motion is GRANTED. Join now to see all activity Experience. BBB accredited since 1/6/2010. Appellants shall recover their costs on appeal, as a joint and several obligation of plaintiffs and defendants. The evidence showed ARS provided uniforms and laundering. []” American Residential Services, allegedly, “places pre-recorded calls in which it identifies itself as [American Residential Services] and/or Rescue Rooter.”  The complaint alleges that the pre-recorded sales calls are made to consumers for marketing purposes and without prior express written consent. ), In Cook, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the propriety of a $25,000 incentive award to the named plaintiff in a suit alleging pension fund mismanagement. SUMMARY Derain Clark and Maxine Gaines filed a class action lawsuit against American Residential Services LLC (ARS), a purveyor of plumbing and related services, seeking damages and penalties for allegedly unpaid minimum and overtime wages, failure to provide meal and rest periods, and other Labor Code violations and unfair business practices. American Residential Services, L.L.C. While we have noted at length the absence of any reasoned analysis of the legal merits of this class’s claim for overtime pay, we must note that counsel acknowledged at oral argument that the factual bases for this settlement have also not been fully developed. American Residential Services Continues Growth Trajectory with Key Acquisitions Memphis, Tenn—Feb. The proposed settlement called for a class of all persons who were employed by ARS any time from April 28, 2001 through December 31, 2006 as service technicians, customer service representatives and/or dispatchers. Barnes illustrated with a hypothetical: A technician earns $40,000 a year in commission compensation; The minimum wage is $7.50 per hour for the class period; The overtime rate would be $3.75 per hour (half of the hourly wage, because the commission plan was on a piece rate system so the technician has already been paid for hours worked and so is entitled to only .5 of the hourly rate for overtime hours). INDUSTRY. PHOENIX (Thursday, September 15, 2011) – Attorney General Tom Horne today announced his office has filed a lawsuit for injunctive relief, restitution and civil penalties in Pima County Superior Court against American Residential Services, L.L.C. Ronair Air Condidtioning and Heating, Inc. 22927 Keswick St. West Hills, CA 91304. SUB-INDUSTRY. However, the notice to class members of the proposed settlement stated that plaintiffs’ counsel requested reimbursement “of costs of up to $40,000.00.” Likewise, the stipulated class action settlement, which class members were invited to inspect, stated that class counsel would submit an application for an award of actual litigation costs “not to exceed Forty Thousand Dollar ($40,000), which includes the costs of claims administration,” and that the amount stated would “constitute complete consideration for all … expenses incurred to date and for all … expenses to be incurred through the completion of the litigation and its settlement.” Consequently, the trial court was not at liberty to award an amount exceeding $40,000 in costs without further notice to the class. Decided: April 12, 2006 J. Philip Burt, Wesley N. Steury, Emily S. Patterson, Burt Blee Dixon Sutton & Bloom, LLP, Fort Wayne, for Appellants. Their license was verified as active when we last checked. But, except to say they spent “countless hours” participating in the prosecution of the case, no further quantification of the time Clark and Gaines spent appears in the record. 34) filed by Plaintiff Christopher Edelen seeking an order that: (1) grants final approval of a settlement agreement … This case was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Courts, Downtown Superior Court located in Santa Clara, California. The amount recoverable for each Class Member . ARS asserts that the lawsuit is therefore over two months late, and Pena cannot prevail because the statue of limitations has run on his claim. 22. ), In Dunk, the court observed that “a presumption of fairness exists where: (1) the settlement is reached through arm’s-length bargaining; (2) investigation and discovery are sufficient to allow counsel and the court to act intelligently; (3) counsel is experienced in similar litigation; and (4) the percentage of objectors is small.” (Dunk, supra, 48 Cal.App.4th at p. (Kullar, supra, 168 Cal.App.4th at p. ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, Inc. (“ABN”) and Michael and Bunny Braughton appeal the trial court's entry of summary judgment in favor of American Residential Services, LLC (“American”). . Kullar further explains that, while there is usually an initial presumption of fairness when a proposed class action settlement was negotiated at arm’s length by counsel for the class, “‘to protect the interests of absent class members, the court must independently and objectively analyze the evidence and circumstances before it in order to determine whether the settlement is in the best interests of those whose claims will be extinguished.’” (Kullar, supra, 168 Cal.App.4th at p. Last Updated November 15, 2019 at 7:38 PM EST (1.2 years ago) Request Update Get E-Mail Alerts : Entries (8) Calendar Events: Related (0) Tools: Save 25% on a pre-paid one year subscription. American Residential Services L.L.C., headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, is one of the largest providers of HVAC, plumbing, sewer, drain cleaning, and energy efficiency services in the United States. Pending before the court is defendant American Residential Services' ("ARS") motion for summary judgment. (Kullar v. Foot Locker Retail, Inc. (2008) 168 Cal.App.4th 116, 127-128 (Kullar). Counsel believed they had a 60% chance of certifying the meal period case, for a potential claim of $2,267,758.32. There was an inherent conflict of interest between service technicians (who claimed they were not paid for all hours worked) and customer service representatives/dispatchers (who were responsible for clocking service technicians in and out in ARS’s computerized time keeping system). The uniform claim was for service technicians only and was based on a charge by ARS of $30 per year ($.58 per workweek) per employee for uniforms. at p. 133), and therefore abused its discretion in approving the settlement. court must be sufficiently developed,’” and the initial presumption to which Dunk refers “‘must then withstand the test of the plaintiffs’ likelihood of success.’” (Ibid.) (Id. ), In short, the rationale for making enhancement or incentive awards to named plaintiffs is that he or she should be compensated for the expense or risk he has incurred in conferring a benefit on other members of the class. Strawn, Lee T. Paterson, Amanda C. Sommerfeld and Emilie C. for... 201 Memphis, Tennessee, after moving there from Downers Grove, Illinois, supra, Cal.App.4th... Was a clear liability claim with a tentative ruling or if later rulings or events impacted ruling. 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