Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement Agreement
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Case 1:17-cv-01622-MLB Document 77 Filed 08/21/20 Page 1 of 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ) DAVID ORR, HENRY CHAMBERLAIN, ) ANGELA MICKEL, and JENNIFER ) GRADY, individually and on behalf of all ) Case No.: 1:17-cv-01622-MLB others similarly situated, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS ) GROUP, PLC, INTER-CONTINENTAL ) HOTELS CORPORATION, and ) INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS ) GROUP RESOURCES, INC., ) ) Defendants. ) PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT Plaintiffs David Orr, Henry Chamberlain, Angela Mickel, and Jennifer Grady (“Representative Plaintiffs”), individually and on behalf of the Settlement Class, by and through Lead Class Counsel, respectfully move this Honorable Court for entry of an Order: (i) finding the Settlement Agreement, ECF 70-2 (the “Settlement”), to be fair, reasonable, and adequate, and granting final approval of the Settlement; and 1 (ii) certifying the Settlement Class for settlement purposes only. 1 The definitions in the Settlement are incorporated herein by reference. Case 1:17-cv-01622-MLB Document 77 Filed 08/21/20 Page 2 of 6 Dated: August 21, 2020 Respectfully submitted, David Orr, Henry Chamberlain, Angela Mickel, and Jennifer Grady, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, /s/ David J. Worley David J. Worley Georgia Bar No. 776665 James M. Evangelista Georgia Bar No. 707807 EVANGELISTA WORLEY, LLC 500 Sugar Mill Road, Suite 245A Atlanta, GA 30350 Tel: (404) 205-8400 [email protected] [email protected] Ben Barnow (Pro hac vice) Illinois Bar No. 0118265 Erich P. Schork (Pro hac vice) Illinois Bar No. 6291153 Anthony L. Parkhill (Pro hac vice) Illinois Bar No. 631768 BARNOW AND ASSOCIATES, P.C. 205 W. Randolph St., Suite 1630 Chicago, IL 60606 Tel: (312) 621-2000 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Lead Class Counsel Case 1:17-cv-01622-MLB Document 77 Filed 08/21/20 Page 3 of 6 Brian K. Herrington (Pro hac vice) Mississippi Bar No. 10204 CHHABRA GIBBS & HERRINGTON PLLC 120 North Congress Street, Suite 200 The Plaza Building Jackson, MS 39201 Tel: (601) 948-8005 Fax: 601) 948-9010 Ranse M. Partin CONLEY GRIGGS PARTIN LLP 4200 Northside Parkway NW Building One, Suite 300 Atlanta, GA 30327 Tel: (404) 809-2591 Fax: (404) 467-1166 [email protected] John Yanchunis (Pro hac vice) Florida Bar Number 324681 Jean Sutton Martin (Pro hac vice) North Carolina Bar Number 25703 MORGAN & MORGAN COMPLEX LITIGATION GROUP 201 North Franklin Street, 7th Floor Tampa, Florida 33602 Telephone: (813) 223-5505 Facsimile: (813) 223-5402 [email protected] [email protected] Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee Case 1:17-cv-01622-MLB Document 77 Filed 08/21/20 Page 4 of 6 Christopher D. Jennings (Pro hac vice) Arkansas Bar Number 2006306 JOHNSON VINES PLLC 2226 Cottondale Lane, Suite 210 Little Rock, Arkansas 72202 Telephone: (501) 372-1300 Facsimile: (888) 505-0909 [email protected] Steven W. Teppler (Pro hac vice) Florida Bar Number 14787 ABBOTT LAW GROUP, P.A. 2929 Plummer Cove Road Jacksonville, FL 32223 Telephone: (904) 292-1111 Facsimile: (904) 292-1220 [email protected] Additional Plaintiffs’ Counsel Case 1:17-cv-01622-MLB Document 77 Filed 08/21/20 Page 5 of 6 RULE 7.1(D) CERTIFICATE The undersigned counsel certifies that this document has been prepared with Times New Roman 14-point font in accordance with Local Rule 5.1(C). Dated: August 21, 2020 /s/ David J. Worley David J. Worley Georgia Bar No. 776665 EVANGELISTA WORLEY, LLC 500 Sugar Mill Road, Suite 245A Atlanta, GA 30350 Tel: (404) 205-8400 [email protected] Case 1:17-cv-01622-MLB Document 77 Filed 08/21/20 Page 6 of 6 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that I caused a true and correct copy of the foregoing to be served on all counsel of record via the Court’s ECF filing system. Dated: August 21, 2020 /s/ David J. Worley David J. Worley Case 1:17-cv-01622-MLB Document 77-1 Filed 08/21/20 Page 1 of 36 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ) DAVID ORR, HENRY CHAMBERLAIN, ) ANGELA MICKEL, and JENNIFER ) GRADY, individually and on behalf of all ) Case No.: 1:17-cv-01622-MLB others similarly situated, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS ) GROUP, PLC, INTER-CONTINENTAL ) HOTELS CORPORATION, and ) INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS ) GROUP RESOURCES, INC., ) ) Defendants. ) PLAINTIFFS’ MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT Case 1:17-cv-01622-MLB Document 77-1 Filed 08/21/20 Page 2 of 36 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND.......................................................................... 2 III. SUMMARY OF THE SETTLEMENT ........................................................... 3 A. The Settlement Class ................................................................................... 3 B. Settlement Benefits ...................................................................................... 4 1. Reimbursement of Certain Expenses and Losses Due to Fraudulent or Unauthorized Charges ................................................ 4 2. Costs of Notice and Settlement Administration .................................... 6 3. Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Expenses, and Representative Plaintiff Service Awards .............................................. 6 C. The Court-Approved Notice Program Was Substantial and Effective ....... 7 IV. ARGUMENT ................................................................................................. 10 A. Final Approval of the Settlement Is Appropriate ...................................... 12 1. The Settlement Class Is Well Represented ......................................... 12 2. The Settlement Was Reached as a Result of Hard-Fought, Arm’s Length Negotiations ...................................... 14 3. The Settlement Benefits Are Excellent, Taking into Consideration the Costs, Risks, and Delay of Trial and Potential Appeals ............................................................. 15 4. The Method of Distributing Relief Supports Final Approval of the Settlement ................................................................. 17 i Case 1:17-cv-01622-MLB Document 77-1 Filed 08/21/20 Page 3 of 36 5. The Terms of the Proposed Award of Attorneys’ Fees Support Approval of the Settlement ........................................... 18 6. The Settlement Parties’ Agreements ................................................... 19 7. The Settlement Treats Settlement Class Members Equitably Relative to One Another ..................................................... 19 8. Settlement Class Members’ Reaction to the Settlement ..................... 20 B. The Settlement Class Should Be Certified for Settlement Purposes......... 22 1. The Requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a) Are Satisfied ................... 22 2. The Requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3) Are Satisfied .............. 24 V. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 25 ii Case 1:17-cv-01622-MLB Document 77-1 Filed 08/21/20 Page 4 of 36 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Bennett v. Behring Corp., 737 F.2d 982 (11th Cir. 1984) ........................................................................ 11, 12 Browning v. Yahoo, Inc., No. C04-01463, 2007 WL 4105971 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 16, 2007) .......................... 21 EEOC v. Hiram Walker & Sons, Inc., 768 F.2d 884 (7th Cir. 1985) ................................................................................ 21 Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156 (1974) ................................................................................................ 7 George v. Academy Mortg. Corp. (UT), 369 F. Supp 3d 1356 (N.D. Ga. 2019) .................................................................. 11 Grant v. Capital Mgmt. Servs., L.P., No. 10-CV-WQH BGS, 2014 WL 888665 (S.D. Cal. Mar. 5, 2014)................... 17 Hanlon v. Chrysler Corp., 150 F.3d 1011 (9th Cir. 1998) ............................................................................. 21 In re Arby’s Restaurant Grp., Inc. Data Sec. Litig., No. 17-cv-1035, 2019 WL 2720818 (N.D. Ga. June 6, 2019) ............................. 19 In re Austrian & German Bank Holocaust Litig., 80 F. Supp. 2d 164 (S.D.N.Y. 2000) .................................................................... 16 In re Delta/AirTran Baggage Fee Antitrust Litig., 317 F.R.D. 675 (N.D. Ga. 2016) ........................................................................... 24 In re Equifax Inc. Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., No. 17-MD-2800, 2020 WL 256132 (N.D. Ga. Mar. 17, 2020) .............. 20, 21, 22 iii Case 1:17-cv-01622-MLB Document 77-1 Filed 08/21/20 Page 5 of 36 In re Mego Fin. Corp. Sec. Litig., 213 F.3d 454 (9th Cir. 2000) ................................................................................ 13 Linney v. Cellular Alaska P’Ship, 151 F.3d 1234 (9th Cir. 1998) .............................................................................. 21 Lunsford v. Woodforest Nat’l Bank, No. 12-CV-103-CAP, 2014 WL 12740375 (N.D. Ga. May 19, 2014) ................ 10 Peters v. Nat’l R.R. Passenger Corp., 966 F.2d 1483 (D.C. Cir. 1992) .............................................................................. 7 Phillips Co. v. Shutts, 472 U.S. 797 (1985) .............................................................................................