SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

Transcription

1 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES EDUARD SHAMIS, ) Case No.: BC ) Plaintiffs, ) Assigned for All Purposes to ) The Hon. Maren E. Nelson, Dept. 17 v. ) ) NOTICE OF PENDING CLASS PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY and ) ACTION SETTLEMENT AND FINAL DOES 1 100, Inclusive, ) SETTLEMENT APPROVAL HEARING ) Defendants ) ) ) THIS LEGAL NOTICE MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY. IT IS NOT A SOLICITATION FROM A LAWYER. TO: All persons who are or were employed by Pepperdine University as non-exempt public safety officers, communications officers, or field supervisors in the Public Safety Department from May 22, 2013 through August 17, 2018: The people who fall in the above-definition are Settlement Class Members or Class Members. A. BACKGROUND INFORMATION 1. Summary of the Lawsuit Plaintiff Eduard Shamis filed his class action complaint against Pepperdine University ( Pepperdine ) in the Superior Court of California, the County of Los Angeles, on May 22, 2017, alleging that Pepperdine failed to provide its California security guards with meal periods and rest breaks in accordance with California law, and for related claims related to paystubs, final wages owed upon separation from employment, Business and Professions Code section and also seeking penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act ( PAGA ). Plaintiff brought his claims on behalf of himself and other current and former security guard employees of Pepperdine. The case title was as follows: Eduard Shamis, plaintiffs, v. Pepperdine University and DOES 1 through 100, inclusive, Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC

2 Pepperdine contends that it has complied with all applicable state and federal laws and Pepperdine continues to deny each and all claims in the action. No Court, labor commissioner, or other legal body has said that Pepperdine violated any laws. Accordingly, the Settlement constitutes a compromise of disputed claims and should not be construed as an admission of liability on the part of Pepperdine, which expressly denies all liability, nor should any inferences be drawn regarding the merits because of the sending of this notice. Plaintiff and Pepperdine have entered into a settlement on a class-wide and representative basis (for settlement purposes only) ( the Settlement Agreement ) that was granted preliminary approval by Judge Maren E. Nelson on August 17, Plaintiff and Settlement Class Members, including you, are represented by the following counsel: Plaintiff and Settlement Class Members: André E. Jardini K.L. Myles KNAPP, PETERSEN & CLARKE 550 North Brand Boulevard, Suite 1500 Glendale, CA Why Did I Receive This Notice? Pepperdine's records indicate that you were employed by Pepperdine during the Class Period and thus, are likely to be a Settlement Class Member entitled to receive a settlement payment under the distribution formula described in section C Benefits to the Settlement Class Members Class counsel support the Settlement and have concluded that the Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and is in the best interest of the Settlement Class Members in light of all known facts and circumstances, including the likely risk of significant delay and appellate risk. In particular, Class Counsel acknowledges the risks that the trial judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court could determine that a Class should not be certified so that no class relief would be available and that Plaintiff would not be similarly situated to other -2-

3 employees such that no representative action would be available. In addition, there is the risk that Plaintiff would not succeed on his liability theories or that damages would be less than anticipated. Pepperdine has raised many defenses to Plaintiff s claims and those claims and those defenses could significantly reduce or even eliminate any liability or damages owed to the Class Members. The settlement ends the continued expense of further litigation, the risk and uncertainty of possible negative future outcomes, and attendant delay. The terms of the settlement were reviewed by the Court and preliminarily approved as fair and reasonable to the Class Members. B. YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS 1. How Do I Get a Settlement Payment? To claim your share of the settlement, you do not need to do anything. 2. Right to Object or Opt Out Any Settlement Class Member may object to the final approval of the proposed settlement or opt out from the settlement by submitting a written statement to the Claims Administrator. The objection and any supporting documents or other materials must be postmarked on or before October 29, Your objection must include (1) the case name and case number shown on page 1, (2) your name, current address, and telephone number, (3) each objection, (4) all factual and legal basis for each objection and enclose any supporting materials or evidence. You may speak to the Court about your objection at the final settlement approval hearing. You may enter an appearance through your own attorney, at your own cost, if you so desire. Class Members who fail to present their objections as specified above may be deemed, in the Court s discretion, to have waived all objections notwithstanding any argument regarding alleged non-receipt of class notice. The opt out request must be postmarked on or before October 29, 2018 and must specify the name, address, and telephone number of the employee, that he/she wishes to opt out of the Settlement and understands he/she will receive no settlement payments, be signed by the employee and include the last four digits of the employee s social security number. Opt out requests which do not contain all of the above information or are not timely will -3-

4 be deemed invalid. Settlement Class Members who submit an opt out request are not entitled to object to the Settlement. Settlement Class Members may, prior to the Final Approval Hearing, withdraw their objections or opt out requests in writing to the Settlement Administrator, which may then be filed with the Court. C. TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT 1. The Proposed Settlement Fund and Distributions of the Settlement Fund Without admitting any liability or wrongdoing, Pepperdine has agreed to pay Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($600,000.00) (the "Settlement Fund") to fully resolve all claims in the Action. In addition, Pepperdine has agreed to pay the costs of administration of the Settlement Fund. The Settlement Fund, Defendant s share of payroll taxes, and the cost of administration, are the maximum amounts Pepperdine is required to pay for any and all purposes under the Settlement Agreement, and in connection with the termination of the Action. Subject to the Court s Final Approval of the settlement, the Settlement Fund will be divided as follows: First, service award payment to Named Plaintiff, Eduard Shamis. The service award to Named Plaintiff, Edward Shamis, will not exceed $5,000. Second, payments of attorneys' fees and costs to Class Counsel. Class Counsel will request from the Court an award of one-third (1/3) of the settlement amount ($200,000), plus additional reimbursable costs in an amount not to exceed $15,000, to compensate for fees and costs incurred for work performed in the Action, as well as the work remaining to be performed in complying with the terms of the settlement. Third, the amount of $35,000 has been allocated to a claim made under the Private Attorney General Action (PAGA) with 75% payable to the State and 25% payable to Plaintiff Shamis, as the aggrieved employee. Fourth, the remaining amount will be distributed to Settlement Class Members as described in section C.2. Fifth, If the Court grants final approval of the Settlement, participating Settlement Class Members who receive a settlement check must cash that check within 180 days from the date the Claims Administrator mails it. -4-

5 Any funds payable to Settlement Class Members whose checks are not cashed within 180 days after mailing will be remitted back out to the Settlement Class Members cashing their checks. 2. Calculation of Your Settlement Share If you are a Settlement Class Member, you will be entitled to a settlement payment based on the formula described in the Settlement Agreement, which is described below. Your settlement payment will be calculated by taking the amount remaining after payment of any service award, attorneys' fees and costs, and PAGA payment, and calculating from that amount the maximum amount which could be paid individually to each Settlement Class Member. As to each Settlement Class Member, the total number of days worked will be calculated and two hours of pay at the last hourly rate of pay per person will be calculated. The total of all such amounts calculated for Settlement Class Members will be compared to the amount remaining and proportionately adjusted accordingly. For instance, if the total calculated as to all Class Members exceeds the amount of the Settlement Fund available for distribution by 20%, a reduction in that amount will be made as to each payment. This reduction also takes into account the risks inherent in the litigation. Pepperdine records will be used to calculate the number of work days you were employed by Pepperdine. The Claims Administrator then will subtract the employee portion of all applicable tax withholdings including, but not limited to, FICA, FUTA, and other employment related taxes and withholding of federal and local income taxes. The remaining amount will be paid to you. Based on information provided by Pepperdine to the Claims Administrator, the number of work days that you were employed by Pepperdine in the Class Period has been calculated to be: 435 days. Your payment calculation takes into account all claims alleged in the Action. 3. Right to Dispute Your Work Days / Settlement Share In the event you dispute the number of work days identified above, you must notify the Claims Administrator of such dispute and provide any materials or evidence in support of the work days for which you contend you are entitled to compensation no later than October 29, The Claims Administrator will promptly -5-

6 notify counsel for the parties of any dispute and forward the materials and evidence you provided. Class Counsel will make a determination regarding the dispute and advise you of a decision within seven (7) days of receipt of the dispute. If you and Class Counsel do not reach a resolution of the dispute, Class Counsel will notify the Court of the dispute at the time of filing the Motion for Final Approval and the dispute will be resolved by the Court. 4. Tax Withholdings Fifty percent (50%) of your settlement payment share will be treated as wages that are subject to payroll taxes, withholdings, and IRS Form W-2 reporting. The remaining fifty percent (50%) will be treated as non-wage interest and penalties not subject to payroll taxes and will be reported on IRS Form You are solely and exclusively responsible for paying to state and/or federal taxing authorities any applicable other taxes due and shall hold Pepperdine and the Released Parties harmless for any taxes, penalties, interest, liabilities, costs, and expenses caused by any such taxing authority relating in any way to your tax treatment of payments made to them or failure to timely or properly pay any taxes owed on your Settlement Payment. Pepperdine and Class Counsel do not make any representations about the tax implications of any amount paid under this Settlement. If you have any questions about the tax implications, you can and should consult a tax expert. This settlement is conditioned upon the Court entering an order at or following the Final Approval Hearing finally approving the settlement as fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class, and the entry of Judgment. D. RELEASE OF CLAIMS The Participating Settlement Class Members, including their heirs, assigns, and estates, shall be deemed to fully forever, irrevocably and unconditionally release, and discharge Pepperdine and the Released Parties, as defined below and in the Settlement Agreement, from any and all claims, debts, liabilities, demands, obligations, guarantees, penalties, premiums, costs, expenses, attorneys' fees, damages, liquidated damages, action or causes of action whatever kind or nature that were or could have been alleged in the Action, whether known or unknown, -6-

7 contingent or accrued, against Pepperdine or the Released Parties or any of them, under any state, or municipal statute, ordinance, regulation, order or common law, arising out of or related to, or that could have been raised, based upon the factual allegations in the Action including, but not limited to, Pepperdine's provision of meal and/or rest breaks or alleged failure to provide meal and/or rest breaks or to pay meal and/or rest period premiums during the Class Period or at the time of separation from employment, including but not limited to claims under California Labor Code sections and 512, California Business & Professions Code sections through 17208, California Labor Code sections 201, 202, 203, 218.5, 218.6, 226, 226.3, 558, 1174, , 2699, (or other provisions of PAGA), Code of Civil Procedure section , the California Industrial Welfare Commission Orders, Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, and any related claims for interest (whether pre- or post-judgment) and/or attorneys' fees and costs. "Released Parties" means Pepperdine, including all of Pepperdine's past and present successors, subsidiaries, investors, parents, holding companies, sister and affiliated companies, divisions and other related entities, as well as the successors, predecessors, shareholders, subsidiaries, investors, parent, sister and affiliated companies, officers, directors, partners, assigns, agents, employees, principals, heirs, administrators, attorneys, vendors, accountants, auditors, consultants, fiduciaries, insurers, reinsurers, employee benefit plans, and representatives of each of them, both individually and in their official capacities, past or present, as well as all persons acting by, through, under or in concert with any of these persons or entities. Each and every Settlement Class Member will be barred from pursuing or seeking to re-open any Released Claims against Released Parties in the future. E. FINAL SETTLEMENT APPROVAL HEARING The Court will hold a final settlement approval hearing in the California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles, Spring Street Courthouse, 312 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, California, 90012, on January 10, 2019 at 9:00 a.m., in Department 17, to decide whether to finally approve the settlement as fair, reasonable, and adequate. At that time, the Court also will be asked to approve class counsel's request for attorneys' fees and costs, and the service awards and PAGA payment to the Named Plaintiff. The Court may listen to people who -7-

8 have complied with the requirements for objections explained above. It is possible that the hearing date or time will be changed without further notice to you, so you should check the Court's calendar before attending, if you plan to attend. You are not required to attend as Class Counsel will answer any questions the Judge may have. The pleadings and other documents in this lawsuit may be examined during regular business hours at the Office of the Clerk, 312 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, California, Notice of Final Judgment will be provided on the Settlement Administrator's website at: This notice has been reviewed and approved by the California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles. If you have any questions regarding this lawsuit or how it affects your rights, please contact that claims administrator at Shamis v. Pepperdine University c/o CPT Group, Inc., 50 Corporate Park, Irvine, CA, PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT, THE JUDGE, OR THE CLERK OF THE COURT ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT OR THE SETTLEMENT PROCESS. -8-