dkt 064 decl of hansen re jnt mtn for prelim approval

7/24/2019 Dkt 064 Decl of Hansen Re Jnt Mtn for Prelim Approval

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA

________________________________________________________________________

Duniyo Hussein, et al., on behalf of herselfand all others similarly situated, and the Rule23 Class,

Plaintiffs,

DECLARATION OF

v. ADAM W. HANSEN

Capital Building Services Group, Inc.,

Defendant.________________________________________________________________________

I, Adam W. Hansen, hereby declare the following:

1. I am one of Plaintiffs Counsel in the above-captioned matter.

2. I submit this declaration in support of the Parties Joint Motion for

Preliminary Approval of the Proposed Class Action Settlement.

3.

With mediation pending, the parties entered into a private agreement to

defer mailing the court-approved notice and toll the claims of all class members until

after mediation.

4. Because the discussions produced a settlement, Plaintiffs counsel did not

send conditional certification notice to the class.

5.

The Parties have engaged in limited discovery.

6. In anticipation of mediation, Capital produced all payroll and timekeeping

data for all members of the class.

Court File No. 15-CV-02498(SRN/BRT)

CASE 0:15-cv-02498-SRN-BRT Document 64 Filed 02/16/16 Page 1 of 5


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7. In addition, the parties agreed on a methodology whereby both parties

could ask questions of the other parties in order to clarify points of dispute.

8. During the period of discovery, for example, Defendant provided detailed

information on the nature of its timekeeping and payroll data, where the data resides, and

who may access or change the data.

9. Defendant also provided discovery on Defendants policies related to

payment, travel time, meal breaks, timekeeping, and providing access to paystubs.

10. Last, Defendant produced detailed financial information relating to

Capitals assets, liabilities, debts, accounts, and contractual relationships.

11. The Parties agreed to defer further discovery and associated disputes in

favor of settlement.

12.

In pursuing claims at issue in the Action, and in evaluating the merits of the

settlement, Class Counsel have (1) reviewed thousands of pages of data and documents,

(2) conducted over a dozen witness interviews, (3) held meetings and conferences

between representatives of the Parties, (4) researched federal and Minnesota law, (5)

investigated facts regarding the Class Members claims, (6) gathered declarations, (7)

researched and investigated potential defenses to Plaintiffs claims, and (8) analyzed the

damages incurred by the Class.

13.

On December 11, 2015, the Parties participated in a full-day mediation

session conducted by the Honorable Arthur Boylan (Ret.).

14.

Following the mediation, the parties continued negotiating over a variety of

sensitive monetary and non-monetary terms.



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15. On January 22, 2016, as a result of these arms length negotiations, the

Parties agreed to the settlement.

16. The Parties have worked diligently to resolve numerous issues regarding

settlement. The Parties believe they are fully and adequately informed of all facts

necessary to evaluate the case for settlement.

17. Capital has provided the names, addresses, and last four digits of the social

security number for all class members.

18. The Parties have drafted a Class Notice which will be distributed by

Plaintiffs, through the law firm of Nichols Kaster, PLLP and its attorneys, who through

the instant Motion request to be appointed Class Counsel and Settlement Administrator in

this case.

19.

Capitals Records identified 650 individuals who met the class definition.

20. Each of the Named Plaintiffs has diligently participated in this case

including answering undergoing detailed interviews, producing documents, and

participating in a length mediation processand has assisted his or her attorneys in the

drafting of the Complaint and prosecution of this litigation.

21. Further, the Named Plaintiffs have no known conflicts of interest that

would compromise their representation of the class in their best interest.

22.

Nichols Kaster, PLLP started in 1974, and presently employs twenty-six

attorneys, as well as twelve additional staff and contract attorneys, and has been

representing employees almost exclusively for 16 years. A large portion of Nichols



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Kasters practice is concentrated on representing employees in wage-and-hour class and

collective actions.

23. The firm is currently lead or co-counsel in approximately 84 class or

collective actions in state and federal courts across the country.

24. Paul Lukas is a partner with Nichols Kaster and an experienced

employment litigator who has been practicing law for twenty-one years. Mr. Lukas has

authored numerous articles, participated in numerous legal seminars and conventions on

employment and trial practice issues, and is a frequent lecturer on current employment

related topics.

25. I am an Associate at Nichols Kaster. After graduating from the University

of Minnesota Law School, I clerked for the Minnesota Supreme Court and the United

States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. I joined Nichols Kaster in 2011, and since

then my practice has focused almost exclusively on the representation of employees in

high-impact individual and class litigation.

26. Carl Engstrom is an associate at Nichols Kaster. Mr. Engstroms practice is

focused exclusively on class-action litigation devoted to protecting workers lost wages

and benefits.

27. At this time, the Parties are unaware of any opposition to this settlement.

28.

Here, either method justifies the award. Plaintiffs counsels current lodestar

exceeds $141,666.66.

29.

At present, Plaintiffs counsel has expended approximately $7,800 in

litigation costs.



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30. Attached as Exhibit 1 is a true and correct copy of the Parties Executed

Settlement Agreement with Exhibits A and B.

Dated: February 16, 2016 NICHOLS KASTER, PLLP

s/Adam W. Hansen________________Adam W. Hansen, MN Bar No. 0391704


dkt 064 decl of hansen re jnt mtn for prelim approval

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