(Newswire.net — November 15, 2013) Los Angeles, CA — For almost five years, Capstone Law has arduously litigated the case Summer York et al. v. Starbucks Corp., case No. 2:08-cv-07919, before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of contemporary and previous Starbucks employees. The employees were allegedly subjected to a variety of wage violations, including receiving improper wage statements and denial of meal breaks. Final approval for a $3.0 million class settlement has been awarded to the Starbucks employees.
An order was issued by the Hon. Judge Gary Feess on October 28th which granted Capstone’s motions for approval of the settlement. Capstone Law’s request for $1.9 million in fees and costs was also granted by Judge Feess. Despite the sweeping changes in class action jurisprudence and the law that have affected this case since the initial complaint was filed in 2008, plaintiffs’ counsel ultimately prevailed.
According to Matthew Theriault, a partner at Capstone Law and lead counsel in York, the $3 million total settlement is designated for employee relief. On average, each class member will receive about several hundred dollars. Some class members will receive nearly $900, which is an unusually high recovery amount for this type of case. Says Matthew Theriault, “This was a long, but well-fought battle involving developing, cutting edge issues. I’m very proud of the fact that, when the dust finally settled, about 10,000 class members were able to receive a substantial sum of money.”
Judge Feess remarked that the $1.9 million awarded by the court for attorneys’ costs and fees “is within the range of Plaintiffs’ attorneys’ reasonable lodestar amount, plus costs.”
Starbucks agreed to alter its rest and break policies in order to permit employees to take uninterrupted breaks according the requirements of the law, in addition to the monetary relief. Theriault remarked that these changes “will inure to the benefit of thousands of current and future Starbucks employees.”
If you wish to discuss this or any other matter with us, please contact the following attorney:
Stephen Gamber, Esq., Capstone Law APC, 1840 Century Park East, Suite 450, Los Angeles, CA 90067;
Phone number: 310-556-4811
Email: Stephen.gamber@capstonelawyers.com
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SOURCE: Capstone Law