Article published in Dropline.biz on September 5, 2005

Greenberg Class Action

By Dino M. Zaffina

Over 100,000 individuals employed in the production of motion pictures, television programs, music videos, television commercials, and/or otherwise, within the State of California received a Notice of Class Action Settlement in the mail from Greenberg Claims Administrator, Post Office Box 2995, Portland Oregon, 97228-2995. (See Notice).

 A class action lawsuit has been filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court, Case Number BC237787, by thirteen plaintiffs, Bill Greenberg; David Roesch; Chris Murray; Lawrence Butterworth; Craig Chandler; Colleen M. Devine; Rachel Flackett; Mikel Hands; Guy Herman; Julia Jecker; Kenneth R. Leiviska; Orville Lynch; and Kathleen Teitsworth on behalf of all the members of a similarly-situated group or groups to recover damages for all the members of the group or groups without the necessity of each member filing an individual lawsuit or appearing as an individual plaintiff. All the members who are similarly-situated are known as “Class Members.”

The Second Amended Consolidated Complaint filed on July 15, 2005, only lists 12 related cases, however, according to the Los Angeles Superior Court, Case Summary for the Greenberg, et al. Class Action, Case Number BC237787, there are 38 related cases and they are as follows: BC250072; BC25935; BC259354; BC268563; BC275080; BC275081; BC275082; BC276385; BC275711; BC305710; BC30571; BC305712; BC305713;  BC305714; BC311760; BC312171; BC312489; BC312779; BC312780; BC312972; BC312973; BC312974; BC313110; BC313111; BC313113; BC313305; BC313306; BC313307; BC313443; BC313444; BC313445; BC313446; BC313447; BC313448; BC316020; BC316021; BC316049; and BC316101. If any readers have a current case against anyone of the 190 defendants listed in this complaint, make sure to look carefully at these related case numbers to see if your case number is listed. If it is listed then it would be beneficial for you to contact your lawyer to make sure that they are aware of the consolidation. They should advise you on how to proceed. (See Second Amended Complaint).

Based on the Notice of Class Action Settlement there are two different settlements that will be looked at by the Court on November 18, 2005. “The Greenberg Settlement Class” and “The Check Stub Settlement Class.” The former settlement is based on late penalties for late paychecks; the latter settlement is for employees who did not receive check stubs or proper check stubs (with deductions listed) along with their paychecks. No decisions have been made or judgments granted at this time. If anyone is contemplating “opting in” or “opting out” of this class action lawsuit, there is a link to the Class Settlement Agreement that should be reviewed by the opting party’s lawyer. (See Class Settlement Agreement).

Dropline.biz spoke with lead counsel, Alan Harris. He stated that the cap for recovery is $550.00. Harris reiterated, “That does not mean that is what people are going to get, but the maximum that they could get.” Harris further stated, “There were approximately 100,000 notices mailed to individuals who made over $10,000 and there are approximately 200,000 additional people who the court did not order us to send the notice by first class mail.  A lot of times, class members do not fill-out the claim forms, so there may be plenty of money for eligible individuals to receive their cap.”

Harris stated, “The proposed settlement makes available up to $5,348,000 to fund cash benefits to class members, notice and administration costs, class counsel’s fees and costs, and incentive payments to the representative plaintiffs. There should be a settlement amount of approximately three million dollars to be divided up by the class members.”

Some individuals may be wondering if it is worth all the effort for the possible payoff for class members. Harris said, “If someone has all their tax records for the relevant period, or they can acquire documentation from the Social Security office, then it is worth 15 or 30 minutes of their time to possibly receive up to $550.00. Of course there are no guarantees that it will be this much.” 

For more information on the Greenberg Class Action you can contact the lawyers at:

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