Heather Stern v. Marc Gambello

MEMORANDUM

The district court certified a settlement class and approved a proposed settlement between Plaintiffs-Appellees Heather Stern et al., (“Plaintiffs”) and Defendant-Appellee AT & T Wireless Services, Inc. (“AWS”). In a separate order, the court also approved Plaintiffs’ application for attorneys’ fees, reimbursement of expenses to class counsel, and incentive awards for class representatives. Objector-Appellants Karin Lynch, Marc Gam-bello, and Gene Hopkins (collectively, “Objectors”) appeal both orders, arguing that the district court did not adequately scrutinize either the proposed settlement or the fee petition. We affirm.

1. The district court more than adequately scrutinized the proposed settlement. Indeed, the district court did a most thorough and excellent job throughout these proceedings. In determining whether to grant final approval, the district judge considered a variety of factors, including: the strength of Plaintiffs’ case and the possibility of no recovery; the risk that AWS would succeed in enforcing arbitration in jurisdictions outside of Califor nia; the risk that the Supreme Court would change the California law regarding arbitration (as it did) in…