Myers, et al. v. Memorial Health System, et al.

United States District Court, District of Ohio
Case No. 2:15-cv-2956


Submit a Claim by August 5, 2022

Submit Claim



FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS





BASIC INFORMATION

The Lawsuit alleges that Defendants’, Marietta Area Healthcare, Inc. d/b/a Memorial Health System, Marietta Memorial Hospital, Selby General Hospital, J. Scott Cantley, and Eric Young (“Defendants”), practices caused employees to work without pay in violation of state and federal wage and hour laws. Plaintiffs further allege that this was the result of Defendants’ practices related to its policy of automatically deducting a 30 minute lunch break period from their shifts, regardless of whether they actually received an uninterrupted, 30 minute break.



In a class action, one or more people called Named Plaintiffs or Class Representatives on behalf of people who may have similar claims. The people put together are a “Class” or “Class Members.”



Defendant denies the allegations of the Lawsuit. The Court has not decided which party is right. The parties have agreed to a Settlement to provide certain benefits to eligible Class Members and to resolve the case without any admission of liability or wrongdoing by Defendant.



The parties have exchanged detailed information about the claims, defenses, and remedies alleged in the Lawsuit. After lengthy settlement negotiations, including a mediation conducted by an independent mediator, the parties reached a proposed Settlement that, if approved by the Court, will resolve the claims asserted against Defendant. Plaintiffs and their counsel believe the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the Class Members.



No. In agreeing to the Settlement, the Defendant denies that it did anything wrong. The Court did not decide in favor of either the Named Plaintiffs, the Class, or the Defendant.



WHO IS IN THE SETTLEMENT?

The Settlement Class includes all of Defendants’ current and former hourly employees who were responsible for direct patient care and were subject to Defendants’ automatic meal deduction policy at any time from October 29, 2012 through December 31, 2018.



If you are a member of the Class Action, in order to receive a payment under the Settlement, you must complete the form that is available on this website.



The deadline for submitting a Claim is August 5, 2022.



SETTLEMENT BENEFITS

In full and complete settlement of the claims of the Class Members who do not exclude themselves, Defendant will pay the principal amount of $2,500,000.00. The Settlement Amount, plus any interest thereon, will be used to pay Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses (as approved by the Court), any service payments that the Court may award to the Class Representatives, the expenses of settlement administration (including class notice), and the settlement payments for the benefit of Class Members who file a claim.



Class Members have four options under the Settlement. If you are a Class Member, you may:



1. File a Claim. To potentially qualify for a monetary payment from the Settlement Amount, Class Members must file a Claim.



2. Do Nothing. If you are a member of the Class Action and do nothing in response to the Notice, you will not receive any proceeds under the Settlement, but you will be deemed to have released all claims against Defendants as described above.



3. To Be Excluded From the Settlement. If you are a member of the Class Action, you may request exclusion from the Class by “opting out.” Class Members who choose to opt-out of the class must mail a written, signed statement to the Claims Administrator stating that he or she is opting out of the Settlement (“Opt-Out Statement”). The Opt-Out Statement must contain your signature to be valid. It must also contain the words “I elect to exclude myself from the hospital wage and hour settlement” or other similar words or language that leads a reasonable person to conclude that you would like to opt-out. To be effective, such Opt-Out Statements may be sent via First Class United States mail and postmarked within sixty (60) days after the mailing of the Class Notices or may also be submitted by facsimile, electronic mail.



If you properly submit a timely Election to Opt Out of Settlement and Class Action, you will not be eligible to receive any of the benefits under the Settlement. You will, however, retain whatever legal rights you may have against Defendant with regard to the Released State Law Claims and Released Federal Law Claims.



4. To Object to the Settlement. Any Class Member that does not request exclusion from the settlement but believes the proposed Settlement is unfair or inadequate in any respect, they may object to the Settlement, by filing a written objection with the Court and mailing a copy of the written objection to Class Counsel, Counsel for Defendant, and the Claims Administrator.



For more information regarding your options as a Class Member, please read the Long Form Notice here.



The Court appointed the law firms of Meyer Wilson Co., LPA, Babin Law, LLC, and Chapin Legal Group LLS as Class Counsel(s) for the settlement purposes.



CLASS COUNSEL(S)


MEYER WILSON CO., LPA


Matthew R. Wilson


Michael J. Boyle


John Camillus


305 W. Nationwide Blvd.


Columbus, Ohio 43215


Telephone: (614) 224-6000


Facsimile: (614) 919-8230



CHAPIN LEGAL GROUP, LLC


Lance Chapin


580 S. High St., Ste. 330


Columbus, OH 43215


Telephone: (614) 221-9100


Facsimile: (614) 221-9272



BABIN LAW, LLC


Steven C. Babin, Jr.


22 E Gay St., Suite 200


Columbus, OH 43215


Telephone: (614) 265-1541


Email: steven.babin@babinlaws.com




Class Counsel(s) represent the interests of the Settlement Class. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.



Class Counsel will file a motion requesting an award of attorneys’ fees of up to 35% of the Settlement Amount, plus actual litigation expenses not exceeding $175,000. Defendant has agreed that it will take no position regarding these requests, provided the requests made to the Court are consistent with this Section. As soon as practicable following the Effective Date, the Settlement Administrator will pay to Class Counsel from the Settlement Amount the attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses awarded by the Court. These amounts are all subject to Court approval.



THE COURT’S FAIRNESS HEARING

The Court will hold a hearing on August 23, 2022, at 10:00 a.m., in Courtroom 323 of the Joseph P. Kinneary U.S. Courthouse, to determine whether the Settlement should be finally approved, to rule on Class Counsel’s motion for award of attorneys’ fees, reimbursement of litigation expenses, and class representative service payments, and for approval of settlement administration expenses. The Court is located at 85 Marconi Boulevard, Columbus, OH 43215. The hearing may be continued without further notice. You should consult the Court’s website for information concerning access to the Courthouse and procedures for participating in hearings by remote means. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO ATTEND OR PARTICIPATE IN THE HEARING, BUT YOU MAY IF YOU CHOOSE.



GETTING MORE INFORMATION

If you have questions about the Settlement, please contact the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel, as follows:



SETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATOR

CLASS COUNSEL(S)


Myers, et al. v. Memorial Health System, et al.


Settlement Administrator


c/o CPT Group, Inc.


50 Corporate Park Irvine, CA 92606


Tel: 1-888-281-3941


Email: MemorialHealthSettlement@cptgroup.com




MEYER WILSON CO., LPA


Matthew R. Wilson


Michael J. Boyle


John Camillus


305 W. Nationwide Blvd.


Columbus, Ohio 43215


Telephone: (614) 224-6000


Facsimile: (614) 919-8230



CHAPIN LEGAL GROUP, LLC


Lance Chapin


580 S. High St., Ste. 330


Columbus, OH 43215


Telephone: (614) 221-9100


Facsimile: (614) 221-9272



BABIN LAW, LLC


Steven C. Babin, Jr.


22 E Gay St., Suite 200


Columbus, OH 43215


Telephone: (614) 265-1541


Email: steven.babin@babinlaws.com