Overview | Important Dates | Notice | Court Documents | FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some frequently asked questions with respect to this case and the Settlement.
- What is a class action? / What is a collective action?
- Who is in the Class/Collective and am I a Member?
- What is this case specifically about?
- What are the Settlement terms?
- How does a Class/Collective Member receive a payment from the settlement?
- Must Class Class/Collective Members participate in the settlement?
- What if the information on a claim form appears incorrect?
- Can a Class/Collective Member object to the settlement?
- What happens if the Settlement does not become final?
- Who represents the settlement class/collective?
- Other than the class/collective, who else is paid under the settlement and why?
- How does one obtain additional information?
1. What is a class action? / What is a collective action?
A class action is a lawsuit in which one or several plaintiffs bring suit on behalf of all of the members of a similarly situated group to pursue a judgment for all members of the group. Class actions may be used by courts when the legal claims and evidence appear to raise issues of law or fact that are common to all members of the class, thereby making it fair to bind all class members to any orders and any judgment in the case. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 23 sets forth the requirements for a class action.
The class action procedures of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 23, do not apply to legal claims brought under the FLSA, but that statute similarly provides that “one or more employees” can bring a lawsuit “for and on behalf of himself or themselves and other employees similarly situated.” One difference from a class action is that the employee who files the lawsuit only represents other employees who affirmatively join the suit. Similarly situated employees who join become part of the collective action.
Steve Thoma is the class and collective action representative in this case.
2. Who is in the class?
This case involves claims on behalf of two classes of employees and one collective. They are as follows:
- The California Class consists of any individual employed by Chase as a Facilities Manager in California from August 11, 2012, through preliminary approval, which occurred on April 17, 2018, and who does not timely opt-out of the Settlement Class.
- The Non-California State Class consists of any individual employed by Chase as a Facilities Manager in Illinois, New York or Texas from August 11, 2013, through preliminary approval, which occurred on April 17, 2018, and who does not timely opt-out of the Settlement Class. The Non-California States Class includes a subclass for each state.
- The Collective consists of any individual employed by Chase as a Facilities Manager nationwide from August 11, 2013, through preliminary approval, which occurred on April 17, 2018.
If you believe that you are a class or collective member and you did not receive a claim form or notice, contact the Claims Administrator toll free at (866) 673-9635.
3. What is this case specifically about?
The Lawsuit asserted claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and similar state laws alleging that Chase failed to properly compensate Facilities Managers for overtime worked. The Lawsuit also alleges that for Facilities Managers employed by Chase in California, Illinois and New York, Chase did not provide proper meal and rest breaks under applicable state law. The Lawsuit also alleges that Facilities Managers employed by Chase in California did not timely receive their final wages, and did not receive accurate and itemized wage statements.
Chase denies these allegations and believes that its Facilities Managers received all monies to which they were entitled. The Parties have entered into this Settlement solely with the intention to avoid further disputes and litigation with the attendant inconvenience and expense. The Court has not made any ruling on the merits of Plaintiff’s claims. No party has prevailed in this action.
If you were employed by Chase as a Facilities Manager during the Covered Period,[1] then the Parties have reached this Settlement on your behalf and the rest of this Notice will affect your rights under the Settlement.
[1] The Covered Period for claims brought in this Lawsuit under federal law, and Texas, Illinois, and New York state law is August 11, 2013, through April 17, 2018, inclusive. The Covered Period for the California state law claims is August 11, 2012 through April 17, 2018, inclusive.
4. What are the Settlement terms?
The entire settlement agreement can be found here.
A. How Much Money Is Chase Paying, And How Will It Be Divided?
The proposed settlement requires Chase to pay a gross sum of $625,000, plus its share of any payroll taxes. The amount will be divided among class members, class counsel, the class representative, and the claims administrator (to pay for notice and administrative costs). And there will be a Reserve Fund which may be used to satisfy any later claims of class members. To the extent the Reserve Fund is not used by class members, it will be provided to the East Bay Community Law Center, a non-profit legal organization.
The Court must approve the entire settlement, including class counsel’s application for attorneys’ fees and costs, as well as the service payment to the class representative.
The estimated allocation of this gross settlement payment is:
$625,000 (Total Payment by Chase (not including its share of payroll taxes))- $156,250 (Plaintiff’s Attorneys’ Fees)- $20,000 (Plaintiff’s Litigation Costs (Estimated))- $10,000 (Steve Thoma’s Service Payment)- $20,750 (Claims Administrator’s Costs (Estimated))- $5,000 (Reserve Fund (to pay for potential later claims)= $413,000 (Net Funds Available For Settlement Awards (Estimated))
If a class member submits a claim form, he or she will be sent a check for a share of these Net Funds pursuant to the terms of the settlement.
Pursuant to the settlement agreement, a portion of the Net Funds will be allocated to each Class Members and/or Collective Members based on his or her total weeks worked as Facilities Managers during the covered periods and any relevant state multipliers. The multiplier is a fixed number to compensate for additional claims under state law that Class Members agree to release, so that the larger the multiplier the more valuable are the claims released. In California, the multiplier is 2.5. In New York, the multiplier is 1.5. In Illinois, the multiplier is 1.5. In Texas, the multiplier is 1.0.
Each Class Member and/or Collective Member will receive a percentage of this allocation based on the percentage of the total workweeks for the Covered Position in the state that the Class Member and/or Collective Member worked, according to Chase’s records.
The Settlement Agreement itself discusses the plan of allocation here.
B. What Are Class Members Giving Up In Exchange For This Money?
Members of the Settlement Classes who do not exclude themselves from the settlement, will be deemed to have given a complete release of all claims based on the Release of Claims set forth in the Settlement Agreement set forth here.
Member of the Collective who join the settlement will be deemed to have given a complete release of all claims under the FLSA, and all state and local wage and hour claims that could have been included in the action based on the alleged facts.
If the Court grants final approval to the settlement, the Court will enter a final judgment and dismiss all of the claims described in this Notice and the Settlement Agreement with prejudice.
5. How does a class member receive a payment from the settlement?
In order to receive a payment, a class member must complete and sign the Claim Form that is being sent in the mail and mail it back to the Claims Administrator.
The Claim Form must be postmarked no later than July 31, 2018.
The Claim Form should be sent to:
Thoma v. J.P. Morgan Chase Claims AdministratorP.O. Box 404041Louisville, KY 40233-4041Toll Free (866) 673-9635
If you lose, misplace, or need another Claim Form, or believe you have not been sent the necessary forms, you should contact the Claims Administrator or Class Counsel.
6. Must Class Members participate in the settlement?
No. However, if class members wish to exclude themselves (or opt out) from the Settlement, they must return the request for exclusion that was sent to them along with the class notice.
The request for exclusion must be delivered to the Claims Administrator and postmarked on or before July 31, 2018, at:
Thoma v. J.P. Morgan Chase Claims AdministratorP.O. Box 404041Louisville, KY 40233-4041Toll Free (866) 673-9635
Class members who submit a properly completed and timely request for exclusion will not be bound by the settlement and will not be eligible to participate in the potential benefits. Moreover, persons who request exclusion will not be entitled to object to the settlement or to appear and be heard at the final fairness hearing.
7. What if the information on a claim form appears incorrect?
The class/collective member’s Claim Form will state his or her dates of employment and number of weeks worked as a Facilities Manager during the covered period. If a class or collective member wishes to challenge that information, they may do so by submitting a written challenge with documentary support to the Claims Administrator, along with the signed Claim Form, by July 31, 2018.
The manner of challenging the information on a claim form is set forth in the settlement agreement here.
8. Can a class member object to the settlement?
Yes.
The Court has scheduled a final fairness hearing on October 16, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 8B of the Central District of California, which is located at 350 W. 1st Street, Los Angeles, California, 90012, to hear evidence and testimony regarding whether final approval should be given to the proposed Settlement. The Court may continue the time and date of the hearing without further notice. The class representative and class counsel will submit their application for the enhancement award, costs, and fees on or before September 18, 2018.
A class member can ask the Court to deny approval by filing an objection if he or she has not opted out of the Settlement. A class member cannot ask the Court to order a larger settlement; the Court can only approve or deny the settlement as presented to it by the parties. If the Court denies approval, no settlement payments will be made and the lawsuit will continue.
Written objections must: (a) contain your name and address, must be signed by you, and must include reference to the matter of Thoma v. CBRE Group, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:16-CV-06040-CBM-AJW, and (b) must be filed with the Court, and served on all counsel of record at the addresses below by September 24, 2018.
United States District Court for the Central District of CaliforniaCourtroom 8B350 W. 1st StreetLos Angeles, CA 90012
| Class Counsel: | Counsel for Chase: |
| Mike CurtisBAKER CURTIS & SCHWARTZ, P.C.One California Street, Suite 1250San Francisco, CA 94111Tel: 415.433.1054Fax: 415.366.2525Email: mcurtis@bakerlp.com | Carrie A. GonellMORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP600 Anton Blvd., Suite 1800Costa Mesa, CA 92626Tel: 714.830.0600Fax: 714.830.0700Email: carrie.gonell@morganlewis.com |
The part of the Settlement Agreement that addresses objections is set forth here.
9. What happens if the Settlement does not become final?
If the Settlement is not approved by the Court or is later terminated, Class/Collective Members will receive no benefits under the Settlement, the lawsuit will proceed as active litigation and Class/Collective Members will not be bound by the releases in the Settlement.
10. Who represents the settlement class?
Steve Thoma is the representative who represents the interests of Class/Collective Members in this Litigation. Thoma and the Settlement Class/Collective are represented by:
Baker Curtis & Schwartz, P.C.One California Street, Suite 1250San Francisco, CA 94111mcurtis@bakerlp.com415.433.1064
11. Other than the class/collective, who else is being paid under the settlement and why?
Subject to approval of the Court, Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees and costs, Plaintiff’s enhancement award and settlement administration costs shall be paid from the proposed Settlement amount.
In connection with the hearing on October 16, 2018, Class Counsel will make a request to the Court for the following: (1) An attorneys’ fees award of $156,250; (2) Reimbursement of costs and expenses of up to $20,000; (3) An incentive award of $10,000 for Steve Thoma, as compensation for his representation of the class throughout the litigation; and (4) Payment of settlement administration costs, currently estimated to be $20,750.
To date, the attorneys have not been paid for litigating this case on behalf of the class/collective, and they have advanced all costs associated with litigating the case.
12. How does one obtain additional information?
Contact Class Counsel at thomasettlement@bakerlp.com or call Class Counsel at (415) 433-1064.
A person may also contact the Claims Administrator toll-free at (866) 673-9635.