Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement and Application for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs and Service Awards
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Case 8:19-cv-00919-MAD-CFH Document 71 Filed 07/12/21 Page 1 of 2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK TINA THOMPSON and SCOTT DOXEY, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, CASE NO. 8:19-cv-0919-MAD-CFH Plaintiffs, vs. COMMUNITY BANK, N.A., Defendant. NOTICE OF PLAINTIFFS’ UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND APPLICATION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS AND SERVICE AWARDS PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that, upon the accompanying Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiffs’ Unopposed Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement and Application for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs and Service Awards, the Joint Declaration of Class Counsel, and the Declaration of Cameron Azari, Esq. on Implemental and Adequacy of Settlement Notice Plan, Plaintiffs Tina Thompson and Scott Doxey and Class Counsel will move the Court, before the Honorable Mae A. D’Agostino, on August 25, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. at the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, 445 Broadway, Courtroom 5, Albany, New York 12207, for an order granting Plaintiffs’ Unopposed Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement and Application for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs and Service Awards. 000118/01339047_1 Case 8:19-cv-00919-MAD-CFH Document 71 Filed 07/12/21 Page 2 of 2 Dated: July 12, 2021 By: /s/ Jonathan M. Streisfeld Jeff Ostrow (pro hac vice) Jeffrey D. Kaliel (pro hac vice) Jonathan M. Streisfeld (pro hac vice) Sophia G. Gold (pro hac vice) KOPELOWITZ OSTROW KALIEL PLLC FERGUSON WEISELBERG GILBERT 1100 15th St., NW, 4th Floor One West Las Olas Boulevard, Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20005 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 (202) 350-4783 Telephone: 954-525-4100 [email protected] Facsimile: 954-525-4300 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] James R. Peluso, Esq. (105634) DREYER BOYAJIAN LLP 75 Columbia Street Albany, New York 12210 Telephone: (518) 463-7784 [email protected] Counsel for Plaintiffs and the Settlement Classes CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that on July 12, 2021, the foregoing was filed via CM/ECF, which caused a true and correct copy to be served to all counsel of record. Respectfully submitted, By: /s/ Jonathan M. Streisfeld Jonathan M. Streisfeld 000118/01339047_1 2 Case 8:19-cv-00919-MAD-CFH Document 71-1 Filed 07/12/21 Page 1 of 42 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK TINA THOMPSON and SCOTT DOXEY, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, CASE NO. 8:19-cv-0919-MAD-CFH Plaintiffs, vs. COMMUNITY BANK, N.A., Defendant. MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND APPLICATION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS AND SERVICE AWARDS Case 8:19-cv-00919-MAD-CFH Document 71-1 Filed 07/12/21 Page 2 of 42 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 1 II. BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................................... 2 A. Procedural History ........................................................................................................................ 2 B. The Settlement Terms .................................................................................................................. 5 1. The Settlement Class .......................................................................................................... 5 2. Relief for the Benefit of the Settlement Class ................................................................. 5 a. Settlement Fund and Forgiveness of Uncollected Overdraft Fees ................... 5 b. Allocation of the Settlement Class Member Payments ....................................... 6 c. Distribution of Settlement Class Member Payments........................................... 6 d. Disposition of Residual Funds ................................................................................ 7 e. Practice Change – Modified Disclosures ............................................................... 7 3. Releases ................................................................................................................................. 8 4. The Notice Program ........................................................................................................... 8 5. Class Representatives Service Awards .............................................................................. 9 6. Attorneys’ Fees and Costs ................................................................................................ 10 III. ARGUMENT ............................................................................................................................................ 10 A. The Legal Standard for Final Approval ................................................................................... 10 B. This Settlement Satisfies the Criteria for Final Approval ...................................................... 11 1. This Settlement Is the Product of Good Faith, Informed and Arm’s Length Negotiations ....................................................................................................................... 12 2. The Facts Support a Determination That the Settlement Is Fair, Adequate and Reasonable. ............................................................................................... 12 a. The Risks of Establishing Liability and Damages Demonstrate That This Settlement is Within the Range of Reasonableness in Light of All Attendant Risks of Litigation and Relative to the Best Possible Recovery. ... 13 b. The Reaction of Settlement Class Members to the Proposed Settlement. ..... 16 c. The Expense, Complexity, and Likely Duration of Further Litigation Favor Settlement. .................................................................................................... 16 i Case 8:19-cv-00919-MAD-CFH Document 71-1 Filed 07/12/21 Page 3 of 42 d. The Risk of Maintaining Class Action Status Throughout Trial Favors Settlement. ................................................................................................................ 18 e. The Extent of Discovery Completed and the Stage of the Proceedings Favor Settlement ..................................................................................................... 18 f. Effectiveness of Distributing Relief, the Release and Equitable Treatment of Class Members Favor Approval ................................................... 19 g. The Terms of Any Proposed Award of Attorneys’ Fees Favor Approval ..... 20 C. Notice to the Settlement Class Was Adequate and Satisfied Rule 23 and Due Process ... 20 D. Certification of the Settlement Class Is Appropriate ............................................................. 21 E. Notice Pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) .................................................. 22 F. Application for Attorneys’ Fees ................................................................................................ 22 1. The Standard for Awarding Attorneys’ Fees to Class Counsel .................................. 23 2. Goldberger Factors ........................................................................................................... 24 a. The Magnitude and Complexities of Litigation .................................................. 24 b. Risks of Litigation ................................................................................................... 25 c. Quality of Representation ...................................................................................... 26 d. Requested Fee in Relation to the Settlement ...................................................... 26 e. Public Policy Considerations ................................................................................. 28 f. The Time and Labor Expended by Counsel and Lodestar Cross-Check ....... 29 G. Application for Service Award .................................................................................................. 32 H. Reimbursement of Costs ............................................................................................................ 33 IV. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................ 33 ii Case 8:19-cv-00919-MAD-CFH Document 71-1 Filed 07/12/21 Page 4 of 42 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Page(s) Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591 (1997) ................................................................................................................................. 22 Anyoku v. World Airways (In re Nig. Charter Flights Litig.), No. MD 2004-1613 (RJD)(MDG), 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155180 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 25, 2011) ....................................................................................................................... 26 Arbuthnot v. Pierson, 607 F. App’x 73 (2d Cir. 2015) .............................................................................................................. 30 Baudin v. Res. Mktg. Corp., LLC, No. 1:19-cv-386 (MAD/CFH), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146280 (N.D.N.Y. Aug. 13, 2020) .. 13, 26 Bellifemine v. Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79679 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 6, 2010) ..................................................................... 18 Bodnar v. Bank of Am., N.A., No. 14-3224, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121506 (E.D. Pa. Aug.