United States District Court, W.D. Washington, Seattle
TORREY GRAGG, on his own behalf and on behalf of similarly situated persons, Plaintiff,
v.
ORANGE CAB COMPANY, INC., a Washington corporation; and RIDECHARGE, INC., a Delaware corporation d/b/a TAXI MAGIC, Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION
SETTLEMENT
Robert
S. Lasnik United States District Judge
Plaintiff
has filed a Motion for an Order Preliminarily Approving Class
Action Settlement (“Motion”). Having reviewed the
Motion and supporting materials, the Court determines and
orders as follows:
A.
Counsel have advised the Court that the Parties have agreed,
subject to final approval by this Court following notice to
the proposed Settlement Class and a hearing, to settle this
Action on the terms and conditions set forth in the
Settlement Agreement and Release of Claims (the
“Agreement”).
B. The
Court has reviewed the Agreement, as well as the files,
records, and proceedings to date in this matter. The terms of
the Agreement are hereby incorporated as though fully set
forth in this Order. Capitalized terms shall have the
meanings attributed to them in the Agreement.
C.
Based upon preliminary examination, it appears to the Court
that the Agreement is sufficiently fair, reasonable, and
adequate to warrant notice to the proposed Settlement Class;
that the Settlement Class should be certified for settlement
purposes; and that the Court should hold a hearing after
notice to the Settlement Class to determine whether to enter
a Settlement Order and Final Judgment in this action, based
upon that Agreement.
Based
upon the foregoing, the Court finds and concludes as follows:
1.
Preliminary Approval of Proposed
Settlement.
The Agreement, including all exhibits thereto, is
preliminarily approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate. The
Court finds that (a) the Agreement resulted from extensive
arm's-length negotiations, with participation of an
experienced mediator, and (b) the Agreement is sufficient to
warrant notice thereof to members of the Settlement Class and
the Settlement Hearing described below.
2.
Class Certification for Settlement Purposes
Only.
(a)
Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3), the Court, for settlement
purposes only, conditionally certifies the following
Settlement Class:
All persons or entities who received at least one Orange Cab
dispatch notification text message on their cellular
telephone from RideCharge.
(b) In
connection with the certification, the Court makes the
following preliminary findings:
(1) The Settlement Class satisfies Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(1)
because the Settlement Class appears to be so numerous that
joinder of all members is impracticable;
(2) The Settlement Class satisfies Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(2)
because there appear to be questions of law or fact common to
the Settlement Class;
(3) The Settlement Class satisfies Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(3)
because the claims of the Representative Plaintiff named in
the caption appear to be typical of the claims being resolved
through the proposed settlement;
(4) The Settlement Class satisfies Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(4)
because the Representative Plaintiff appears to be capable of
fairly and adequately protecting the interests of the
above-described Settlement Class in connection with the
proposed settlement and because counsel representing the
Settlement Class are qualified, competent, and capable of
prosecuting this action on behalf of the Settlement Class.
(5) The Settlement Class satisfies the requirements of
Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3) because, for purposes of settlement
approval and administration, common questions of law and fact
appear to predominate over questions affecting only
individual Settlement Class Members and because settlement
with the above-described Settlement Class appears to be
superior to other available methods for the fair and
efficient resolution of the claims of the Settlement Class.
The Settlement Class appears to be sufficiently cohesive to
warrant settlement by representation.
(c) In
making the foregoing findings, the Court has exercised its
discretion in conditionally certifying a Settlement Class.
3.
Representative Plaintiff.
For settlement purposes only, the Court hereby appoints
Plaintiff Torrey Gragg as Representative Plaintiff pursuant
to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and finds
that, for settlement purposes only, Mr. Gragg has and will
fairly and adequately protect the interests of the Settlement
Class.
4.
Cl ...