Case 3:12-Md-02407-VLB Document 47 Filed 02/14/14 Page 1 of 3
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Case 3:12-md-02407-VLB Document 47 Filed 02/14/14 Page 1 of 3 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT ) IN RE: HIGHER ONE ONEACCOUNT MARKETING ) No. 3:12-md-02407 (VLB) AND SALES PRACTICES LITIGATION ) ) DATE: FEBRUARY 14, 2014 _____________________________________________________________________ PLAINTIFFS’ UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiffs, Brandi Crawford, Tarsha Crockett, Aisha DeClue, Larry Forman, Rhonda Hannibal, Prince Kaywood, Gaynell Kaywood, John Brandon Kent, Brianne Elizabeth Kent, Kristen Krieg, Jonathan Lanham, Ashley Parker, and Jeanette Price, (the “Plaintiffs”), on behalf of themselves and the proposed Class, which is defined in the accompanying Settlement Agreement, hereby move for preliminary approval of the proposed settlement (“Settlement”) reached with Defendants, Higher One Holdings, Inc., Higher One Inc., Wright Express Financial Services Corporation, Taylor Capital Group, Inc., and the Bancorp Bank (collectively, “Defendants”). For the reasons stated in the accompanying Memorandum of Law and as reflected in the accompanying Settlement Agreement, the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate and is the product of arm’s length negotiations between counsel for Plaintiffs and the Class and Defendants. Accordingly, Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court (1) preliminarily approve the Settlement as set forth in the Settlement Agreement; (2) 1 Case 3:12-md-02407-VLB Document 47 Filed 02/14/14 Page 2 of 3 approve the Notice plan; (3) appoint Rust Consulting as Settlement Administrator; (4) preliminarily certify the Class, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(1) and (3) for purposes of settlement only; (5) appoint Class Representatives; (6) appoint Class Counsel; and (7) set a date for the Fairness Hearing. Dated: February 14, 2014 Respectfully submitted: /s/ Hassan A. Zavareei /S/KAREN M. LESER -GRENON Hassan A. Zavareei SHEPHERD FINKELMAN MILLER & SHAH LLP TYCKO & ZAVAREEI LLP James E. Miller (ct21560) Hassan A. Zavareei ( pro hac vice ) Karen M. Leser-Grenon (ct23587) Jeffrey D. Kaliel ( pro hac vice ) 65 Main Street 2000 L Street NW, Suite 808 Chester, CT 06412 Washington, DC 20036 Telephone: (860) 526-1100 Telephone: (202) 973-0900 Facsimile: (860) 300-7367 Facsimile: (202) 973-0950 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] GENTLE TURNER SEXTON DEBROSSE & Interim Lead Counsel HARBISON Diandra Debrosse 501 Riverchase Parkway East Suite 100 Hoover, AL 35244 Telephone: (205) 716-3000 Facsimile: (205) 716-3010 [email protected] JONES WARD PLC Jasper Ward Alex Davis 312 S Fourth Street, 6th Floor Louisville, KY 40202 Telephone (502) 882-6000 Facsimile: (502) 587-2007 [email protected] [email protected] Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee 2 Case 3:12-md-02407-VLB Document 47 Filed 02/14/14 Page 3 of 3 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on February 14, 2014, a copy of the foregoing Plaintiffs’ Unopposed Motion for Preliminary Approval of Settlement was filed electronically and served by mail on anyone unable to accept electronic filing. Notice of this filing will be sent by e-mail to all parties by operation of the Court’s electronic filing system or by mail to anyone unable to accept electronic filing as indicated on the Notice of Electronic Filing. Parties may access this filing through the Court’s CM/ECF System. /s/Karen M. Leser-Grenon Karen M. Leser-Grenon (ct23587) Shepherd Finkelman Miller & Shah, LLP 65 Main Street Chester, CT 06412 Telephone: (860) 526-1100 Facsimile: (866) 300-7367 Email: [email protected] Case 3:12-md-02407-VLB Document 47-1 Filed 02/14/14 Page 1 of 57 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT ) IN RE: HIGHER ONE ONEACCOUNT MARKETING ) No. 3:12-md-02407 (VLB) AND SALES PRACTICES LITIGATION ) ) DATE: FEBRUARY 14, 2014 _____________________________________________________________________ MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT Case 3:12-md-02407-VLB Document 47-1 Filed 02/14/14 Page 2 of 57 Table of Contents Table of Authorities ...................................................................................................... iii I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 II. BACKGROUND RELEVANT TO PRELIMINARY APPROVAL ............................. 5 A. History of the Litigation ...................................................................................... 5 B. History of Settlement Negotiations .................................................................... 8 C. Higher One Practice Changes .......................................................................... 10 III. THE SETTLEMENT PROVISIONS ..................................................................... 12 A. The Class ........................................................................................................... 13 B. Monetary Relief for the Class ........................................................................... 13 C. Class Release .................................................................................................... 14 D. The Notice Program .......................................................................................... 14 1. Email Notice .................................................................................................... 16 2. Mailed Notice .................................................................................................. 17 3. The Settlement Website and the Toll-Free Settlement Line ....................... 18 E. Settlement Administration ................................................................................ 18 F. Distribution of the Settlement Fund ................................................................. 19 G. Class Representative Service Awards............................................................. 20 H. Attorneys’ Fees and Costs ............................................................................... 21 IV. ARGUMENT ...................................................................................................... 21 A. The Settlement Agreement Merits Preliminary Approval ............................... 21 i Case 3:12-md-02407-VLB Document 47-1 Filed 02/14/14 Page 3 of 57 1. The Settlement Agreement Is A Result Of Informed, Non-Collusive Negotiations ................................................................................................... 24 2. The Settlement Easily Falls Within the Range of Possible Approval ........ 26 a. The Stage of the Proceedings and the Amount of Discovery Completed…………………………………………………………………26 b. The Risks of Establishing Liability and Damages………………….28 c. The Complexity, Expense and Likely Duration of the Litigation………………………………………………………………..…30 d. The Range of Reasonableness of the Settlement Fund in Light of the Best Possible Recovery and in Light of All the Attendant Risks of Litigation………………………………………….31 V. THE COURT SHOULD GRANT PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF THE PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION AND ALLOCATION .................................................................... 34 VI. THE PROPOSED CLASS MEETS THE PREREQUISITES FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION UNDER RULE 23 ................................................................... 37 A. Numerosity, Commonality and Typicality ....................................................... 38 B. Adequacy of Representation ............................................................................ 40 C. Predominance of Common Issues and Superiority ........................................ 41 VII. NOTICE ............................................................................................................... 43 A. Contents of Notice............................................................................................. 46 1. Opting Out ...................................................................................................... 46 2. Objecting......................................................................................................... 47 3. Scope of Notice .............................................................................................. 47 VIII. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 48 ii Case 3:12-md-02407-VLB Document 47-1 Filed 02/14/14 Page 4 of 57 Table of Authorities Cases Amchem Prods. v. Windsor , 521 U.S. 591 (1997) ............................................................................................ 38, 42 Browning v. Yahoo! Inc. , 2006 WL 3826714 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 27, 2006) ............................................................ 45 Cagan v. Anchor Sav. Bank FSB , 1990 WL 73423 (E.D.N.Y. May 22, 1990) ................................................................. 32 Charron v. Wiener , 731 F.3d 241 (2d Cir. N.Y. 2013) .............................................................................. 35 Chatelain v. Prudential-Bache Sec. , 805 F. Supp. 209 (S.D.N.Y. 1992) ............................................................................ 29 Chin v. RCN Corp., 2010 WL 1257586 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 12, 2010) ............................................................. 23 Cotton v. Hinton , 559 F.2d 1326 (5th Cir. 1977) ................................................................................... 31 Cross v. 21st Century Holding Co. , 2004 WL 307306 (S.D.N.Y. Feb.