Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, STATE UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES—S.D. Cal.: Settlement of newspaper carriers’ suit against publisher preliminarily approved, (Oct 21, 2014)

By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.

The federal district court in San Diego has granted preliminary approval to a proposed settlement in an action by home delivery newspaper carriers against a newspaper publisher for allegedly engaging in unfair business practices (Dalton v. Lee Publications, Inc., October 17, 2014, Curiel, G.).

Yvonne Dalton, Dian Garza, Arminda Guzman, Sharon Hughen, Etelvina Salgado, Hector Miguel Salgado, Refugio Sanchez, and Luisa Ramirez Flores contracted with Lee Publications (NCT), publisher of the North County Times, to deliver newspapers to home subscribers. The carriers filed suit against NCT, alleging that the company engaged in unfair business practices in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law. The plaintiffs’ claims were based on a liability theory of misclassification of the newspaper carriers as independent contractors. In an unopposed motion, the plaintiffs moved for preliminary approval of the proposed settlement.

Proposed settlement. The court found that the proposed settlement agreement was fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the class members. The parties recognized the risks, complexity, and likely duration of further litigation and both have expended considerable resources on discovery, motion practice, and trial preparation. Moreover, class counsel had experience prosecuting class actions relating to employment claims and counsel for both parties indicated that the settlement was fair and reasonable in light of the uncertainties of continued litigation.

Finally, in this case, the plaintiffs asserted claims for unreimbursed business expenses and unfair competition. NCT has agreed to establish a settlement fund of $3.2 million which will be distributed to class members who submit timely claims. In the court’s view, the amount offered in settlement was adequate at the current stage of the proceeding.

The case is No. 08-CV-1072.

Attorneys: Curtis Keith Greer (Greer and Associates APC) for Yvonne Dalton. Camille A. Olson (Seyfarth Shaw LLP) for Lee Publications, Inc.

Companies: Lee Publications, Inc.

Cases: StateUnfairTradePractices CaliforniaNews