John Utne v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 JOHN UTNE, et al., Case No. 16-cv-01854-RS Plaintiffs, 11 v. ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF

HOME DEPOT U.S.A., INC., CLASS ACTION AND PAGA

SETTLEMENT Defendant.

15 I. INTRODUCTION More than seven years after this litigation began, the parties have reached a settlement for which Plaintiffs seek preliminary approval. Under the proposed Settlement Agreement, Defendant Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. (“Home Depot”), will provide a gross payment of $72.5 million to resolve the claims of three classes — two of which have already been certified (the “Hourly Employee Class” and the “Post-Shift Class”), and one class (the “Rounding Class”) for which Plaintiffs seek certification pursuant to Rule 23(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Upon review, the Settlement Agreement appears fair, adequate, and reasonable such that preliminary…