Pendergrass v. Pacific Sunwear Stores LLC
A settlement was given final approval in a class action lawsuit pending in the California Superior Court for the County of San Diego- Hall of Justice entitled Jasper Pendergrass, on behalf of himself, the General Public and all others similarly situated v. Pacific Sunwear Stores LLC and Does 1 through 20, case number 37-2017-00008160-CU-BT-CTL (the “Action”). The purpose of this Notice is to provide a summary of the claims asserted and the terms of the Settlement. If you wish to be included in the proposed Settlement, you do not have to do anything to indicate your consent. If you wish to be excluded from this Settlement, follow the instructions in this Notice.
WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?
The Settlement resolved the Action involving Plaintiff’s claims that Defendant failed to redeem gift cards for cash, upon request, when the remaining balance on the gift card was less than $10.00. Defendant denies any wrongdoing. The Court did not decide which side was right, but both sides agreed to the Settlement.
WHAT DOES THE SETTLEMENT PROVIDE
The Court approved the following settlement terms: PacSun has agreed to (1) a consent injunction agreeing to fully comply with Civil Code section 1749.5 in all of its California locations; (2) thoroughly review its policies and practices in regard to redeeming its gift cards and ensure that its operations policies provide that employees are required to comply with California law which requires that a gift card must be redeemed for cash, upon a customer’s request, when the gift card balance falls below $10.00 or similar language; (3) hold at least one training session for its existing employees in its California stores for purposes of reviewing PacSun’s updated gift card redemption policies, and an officer of PacSun shall affirm by affidavit to opposing counsel that such training took place; (4) verbally instruct new employees that California law requires that a gift card must be redeemed for cash, upon a customer’s request, when the gift card balance falls below $10.00; (5) post for 12 months a reasonably sized notice in an employee-only area stating the following or similar language: “California law requires that a gift card must be redeemed for cash, upon a customer’s request, when the gift card balance falls below $10.00.” (6) perform an internal audit of its compliance with the terms of the settlement; (7) participate in a claims process administered by Plaintiff’s Counsel, whereby any Class Member who submits a timely and valid claim attesting to have possessed a PacSun gift card which was purchased between March 7, 2013 through October 18, 2017, which had a balance of less than $10.00, but disposed of it upon being informed by a PacSun employee in California that it could not be redeemed for cash, will receive a replacement eGift Card or Gift Card valued at $10.00, which can be used at any PacSun location in California, without an additional purchase requirement. The number of eGift Cards or Gift Cards to be claimed by Class Members shall be limited to the first 3,305 valid and timely claims. The claims period will begin ten (10) days after final approval, and end 4 months after that date. The eGift Cards or Gift Cards are limited to one per household, as determined by mailing and/or IP address of the claimant. Plaintiff’s Counsel shall have the right to verify the truthfulness of the representations on any claim and the right to reject any claim on which a material misrepresentation appears. Plaintiff’s Counsel reserves the right to contact claimants to discuss or verify claims.
Finally, the Court approved an incentive award of $1,500.00 to the named class representative, and attorneys for the Class were awarded $68,500.00 total for their attorneys’ fees and all costs, including certain administration costs.
Finally, the Court approved an incentive award of $1,500.00 to the named class representative, and attorneys for the Class were awarded $68,500.00 total for their attorneys’ fees and all costs, including certain administration costs.
THE CLAIMS PERIOD HAS ENDED. NO MORE CLAIMS MAY BE MADE.