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Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement

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Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY : Scott D. Sager, Edward Young, Renada Hall, : Michael Marcotte, Sharon Scott, Jack : Whittington, Carmelita Nunez, on behalf of : themselves and all others similarly situated, : : Plaintiffs, : Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-13556 (ES) (SCM) vs. : : Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., and Audi : of America, Inc., : : Defendants. : : : MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF THE PARTIES’ CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT Plaintiffs, Scott D. Sager, Edward Young, Renada Hall, Michael Marcotte, Sharon Scott, Jack Whittington, and Carmelita Nunez (“Plaintiffs”) respectfully move for entry of an Order granting final approval of the Settlement Agreement between Plaintiffs and Defendants Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. and Audi of America, Inc. (“Defendants” or “VWGoA”)1 In support, Plaintiffs submit (i) Plaintiffs’ Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement; (ii) the May 27, 2021 Declaration of Cameron R. Azari, Senior Vice President at Epiq, the class action administrator; and (iii) the May 31, 2021, Declaration from Stephen Taylor. 1 Audi of America, Inc. is not a separate entity. It is an operating unit of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. 1 Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court approve the settlement as fair, reasonable and adequate and enter the Parties’ Proposed Final Approval Order.2 Dated: May 31, 2021 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Sergei Lemberg Sergei Lemberg (phv) /s/ Stephen Taylor Stephen Taylor (phv) /s/ Sofia Balile Sofia Balile LEMBERG LAW, LLC 43 Danbury Road Wilton, CT 06897 Telephone: (203) 653-2250 Facsimile: (203) 653-3424 Attorneys for Plaintiffs 2 The Parties’ Proposed Final Approval Order will be lodged with the Court ahead of the Final Fairness Hearing. 2 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on May 31, 2021, a true and correct copy of the foregoing was filed with the Clerk of the Court through the ECF system which gave notice of such filing to all parties of record. /s/ Sofia Balile Sofia Balile UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY : Scott D. Sager, Edward Young, Renada Hall, : Michael Marcotte, Sharon Scott, Jack : Whittington, Carmelita Nunez, on behalf of : themselves and all others similarly situated, : : Plaintiffs, : Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-13556 (ES) (SCM) vs. : : Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., and Audi : of America, Inc., : : Defendants. : : : MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF THE PARTIES’ CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES .......................................................................................................... ii INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................4 I. The Coolant Pump and Recalls ................................................................................... 4 II. History of this Litigation ............................................................................................. 5 III. Settlement .................................................................................................................... 7 IV. Terms of the Settlement .............................................................................................. 8 V. Notice, Claims and Objections .................................................................................. 12 ARGUMENT .................................................................................................................................15 I. STANDARD OF REVIEW FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENTS ....................................................................................................... 15 II. THE COURT SHOULD CERTIFY THE SETTLEMENT CLASS ......................... 16 III. THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT SATISFIES THE GIRSH FACTORS .......... 16 A. Continued Litigation Would be Complex, Expensive and Long. .....................16 B. The Reaction of the Class to the Settlement Favors Approval ..........................18 C. The Stage of the Proceedings and the Amount of Discovery Completed Favors Approval .............................................................................19 D. The Risks of Establishing Liability Favors Approval .......................................20 E. The Risks of Establishing Damages Favors Approval ......................................21 F. The Risks of Maintaining a Class Action Through Trial Favors Approval ............................................................................................................22 G. The Ability of Defendants to Withstand a Greater Judgment ...........................23 H. The Range of Reasonableness of the Settlement in Light of the Best Possible Recovery and of all the Attendant Risks of Litigation Favor Approval ..................................................................................................23 IV. THE OBJECTIONS SHOULD BE OVERRULLED ............................................... 25 A. The Samadi and Rahinseky Objections to the length of the Turbocharger Warranty Extension Should Be Overruled .................................25 B. The Williams, Eisnor and Bacchetti Objections Concerning Repairs at Non-Audi Dealerships should be overruled. ....................................27 C. The Peterson and Bitner Objections Concerning Fees Should be Overruled ...........................................................................................................31 D. The Wilinski Objection Has Been Withdrawn ..................................................34 CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................34 i TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Amchem Prods., Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 117 S. Ct. 2231 (1997) ..................................... 22 Arrington v. Optimum Healthcare IT, LLC., 2018 WL 5631625 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 31, 2018) ......... 34 Bell Atl. Corp. v. Bolger, 2 F.3d 1304 (3d Cir. 1993)................................................................... 18 Bredbenner v. Liberty Travel, Inc., 2011 WL 1344745 (D.N.J. Apr. 8, 2011) ................ 16, 19, 23 Dewey v. Volkswagen of Am., 728 F. Supp. 2d 546 (D.N.J. 2010) ............................................... 22 Ehrheart v. Verizon Wireless, 609 F.3d 590 (3d Cir. 2010) ......................................................... 15 Flores v. Express Servs., Inc., 2017 WL 1177098 (E.D. Pa. Mar. 30, 2017) ............................... 34 Girsh v. Jepson, 521 F.2d 153 (3d Cir. 1975)......................................................................... 15, 19 In re AT&T Corp. Secs. Litig., 455 F.3d 160 (3d Cir. 2006) ........................................................ 16 In re Baby Prod. Antitrust Litig., 708 F.3d 163 (3d Cir. 2013) .................................................... 26 In re Cendant Corp. Litig., 264 F.3d 201 (3d Cir. 2001) ....................................................... passim In re CertainTeed Corp. Roofing Shingle Prod. Liab. Litig., 269 F.R.D. 468 (E.D. Pa. 2010) ............................................................................................ 23 In re CertainTeed Fiber Cement Siding Litig., 303 F.R.D. 199 (E.D. Pa. 2014) ................... 25, 29 In re Gen. Motors Corp. Pick-Up Truck Fuel Tank Prod. Liab. Litig., 55 F.3d 768 (3d Cir. 1995).................................................................................. 18, 19, 20, 21 In re Merck & Co., Inc. Vytorin ERISA Litig., 2010 WL 547613 (D.N.J. Feb. 9, 2010) ............. 18 In re Nat’l Football League Players Concussion Inj. Litig., 821 F.3d 410 (3d Cir. 2016) .......... 20 In re Prudential Ins. Co. Am. Sales Practice Litig. Agent Actions, 148 F.3d 283 (3d Cir. 1998)............................................................................................ 15, 18 In re Safety Components, Inc. Sec. Litig., 166 F. Supp. 2d 72 (D.N.J. 2001) .............................. 20 In re Telectronics Pacing Sys., Inc., 137 F. Supp. 2d 985 (S.D. Ohio 2001) ............................... 25 ii In re Warfarin Sodium Antitrust Litig., 391 F.3d 516 (3d Cir. 2004) ............................... 17, 21, 23 Johnson v. Comodo Grp., Inc., 2020 WL 525898 (D.N.J. Jan. 31, 2020) .................................... 17 Milliron v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., 423 F. App’x 131 (3d Cir. 2011) ............................................... 34 Oliver v. BMW of N. Am., LLC, 2021 WL 870662 (D.N.J. Mar. 8, 2021) ............................ passim Pfeifer v. Wawa, Inc., 2018 WL 4203880 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 31, 2018) ............................................ 25 Skeen v. BMW of N. Am., LLC, 2016 WL 4033969 (D.N.J. July 26, 2016) ................................. 26 Stoetzner v. U.S. Steel Corp., 897 F.2d 115 (3d Cir. 1990) .......................................................... 19 Sullivan v. DB Investments, Inc., 667 F.3d 273 (3d Cir. 2011) .................................................... 22 Weiss v. Mercedes-Benz of North America, 899 F. Supp. 1297 (D.N.J. 1995) ................ 18, 19, 20 White v. Nat’l Football League, 822 F. Supp. 1389 (D. Minn. 1993) .......................................... 22 Yaeger v. Subaru of Am., Inc., 2016 WL 4541861 (D.N.J. Aug. 31, 2016) ............... 26, 27, 28, 31 Statutes 15 U.S.C. § 2301 ............................................................................................................................
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