Case :-cv-0-vc Document 0- Filed 0// Page of 0 0 Joshua B. Swigart, Esq. (SBN josh@westcoastlitigation.com David J. McGlothlin, Esq. (SBN david@westcoastlitigation.com Hyde & Swigart Camino Del Rio South, Suite 0 San Diego, CA 0- Telephone: ( -0 Facsimile: ( -0 Abbas Kazerounian, Esq. (SBN 0 ak@kazlg.com Ryan L. McBride, Esq. (SBN ryan@kazlg.com Kazerouni Law Group Fischer Ave., Suite D Costa Mesa, CA Telephone: (00 00-0 Facsimile: (00 0- Attorneys for the Plaintiff Robert A. Pastor UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA Robert A. Pastor; Scott M. Van Horn; Regina M. Florence; and William E. Florence III, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. Bank of America, N.A. Defendant. Case No. -cv-0-vc PLAINTIFF S MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT OF SUPPLEMENTAL MOTION FOR AWARD OF ATTORNEYS FEES [CLASS ACTION]
Case :-cv-0-vc Document 0- Filed 0// Page of 0 0 I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiffs Robert A. Pastor, Regina Florence, William Florence, and Scott Van Horn (collectively referred to as Plaintiffs move the Court for an award of attorneys fees for the work performed related to the Amended Preliminary Approval of the Class Action Settlement. Plaintiffs incorporate their previous Motion for Attorney Fees, Costs and Incentive Awards into this response which outlines Class Counsel s right to fees, how fees should be calculated, the fairness of the fees requested, and Class Counsel s experience and reasonableness of their requested hourly rates. (see Dkt. No.. II. LITIGATION AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND The original Settlement (see Dkt. No. - created a common fund in the amount of $,,000.00. [Settlement Agreement, ]. Each Class member to make a claim will receive a pro-rata share of that common fund. [Settlement Agreement, ]. However, in December 0, after notice was already provided to the class, BANA discovered that, due to an inadvertent error in retrieving names and addresses of class members from BANA s electronic consumer records, the Notice was not mailed to all borrowers on accounts with multiple borrowers. To address this issue, the Parties negotiated and then executed an Addendum to Revised Class Action Settlement Agreement (see Dkt. No. - ( Addendum. First, the Addendum increases the number of class members to include all of the approximately,0 Affected Settlement Class Members and included a revised notice plan. Id at & 0-. Second, along with the increase in the size of the settlement class, the Addendum increases the total amount of the Settlement Fund. Id at. By increasing the amount of the Settlement Fund, the Parties have ensured that the increase in the settlement class will not result in a decrease in the amount each Class Member will receive
Case :-cv-0-vc Document 0- Filed 0// Page of 0 0 compared to the amount each was set to receive before the addition of the Affected Settlement Class Members. Rather, the Parties have ensured that the pro rata share for each Class Member will not be impacted. BANA agrees to pay each of the Affected Settlement Class Members who makes a valid claim the amount of each of the Original Settlement Class Members would have received under the original settlement. Id. Finally, the Addendum reflects Bank of America s agreement to pay an additional $0,000.00 for Class Counsel s attorneys fees and $, for costs incurred by Claims Administrator KCC for work related to the Settlement of the Affected Settlement Class Members claims outside of the previously established Settlement Fund. Id. Therefore, The settlement amount for the original Settlement Class Members will not be diluted in any way by any costs, fees or settlement payments to the Affected Settlement Class Members. In addition the amount paid to the Affected Settlement Class Members is in no way affected by the amount paid to Class Counsel for fees. III. ARGUMENT Plaintiffs incorporate the arguments, pleadings, exhibits and declarations of Plaintiff Motion for Attorneys Fees, Costs, and Incentive Awards into this motion. (see Dkt. No.. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide that [i]n a certified class action, the court may award reasonable attorneys fees and nontaxable costs that are authorized by law or by the parties agreement. Fed. R. Civ. P. (h. Pursuant to the terms of the Addendum in this case, Class Counsel shall move the Court for an award of attorneys fees in the amount of $0,000. The Requested Fee Amount is Fair and Reasonable The requested fee amount is fair and reasonable when compared to the settlement value as well as the lodestar incurred by Class Counsel. The
Case :-cv-0-vc Document 0- Filed 0// Page of 0 0 requested fees resulted from an agreement reached between the parties, in which the parties tried to estimate the additional work that would be required as a result of the lack of notice to the,0 Affected Settlement Class Members. As a result of the notice error, Class counsel had to research various issues including incomplete notice given to the class, and amending class notice once notice was already sent to class members. See Declaration of Attorney David J. McGlothlin ( McGlothlin Decl.. Class counsel also negotiated an addendum to the settlement to fairly compensate the Affected Settlement Class Members, drafted and revised various Court filings including the Joint Motion to Request Supplemental Approval of Addendun to Revised Class Action Settlement Agreement (see Dkt. No. and answered numerous questions from class members regarding the delay. McGlothlin Decl.. The accompanying declarations of Class Counsel set forth the hours of work and billing rates used to calculate their lodestar. Plaintiffs additional attorneys hours are summarized below: PERSON: RATE: HOURS: TOTAL: ABBAS KAZEROUNIAN $0. $, JOSHUA SWIGART $0. $,00.0 DAVID MCGLOTHLIN $0. $, RYAN MCBRIDE $00. $0.00 TOTAL:. $,.0
Case :-cv-0-vc Document 0- Filed 0// Page of 0 0 As of the date of the filing of this motion, Class Counsel has expended an additional. hours in the amount of $,.0 in attorney s fees. McGlothlin Decl.. Therefore, Class Counsel s request for the additional $0,000 in fees as agreed to in the Addendum is fair and reasonable. IV. CONCLUSION The amount payable in fees for the work spent on the Amended Preliminary Approval were separately agreed to by the parties, and in no way dilute the amount of recovery to the Class or the Affected Settlement Class Members. Additionally, the amount of fees is fair and reasonable considering the time actually spent by Class Counsel. For the foregoing reasons, Class Counsel respectfully request that the Court grant Plaintiffs motion for an award of attorneys fees for the work performed related to the Amended Preliminary Approval of the Class Action Settlement in the amount of $0,000. Date: May, 0 Hyde & Swigart By:/s/ David J. McGlothlin David J. McGlothlin, Esq. Attorneys for Plaintiff