CHRISTIE COFFIN, ET AL. v. MAGELLAN HRSC, INC., ET AL. Settlement

A class action is a type of lawsuit in which one or a few named plaintiffs bring suit on behalf of all the members of a similarly situated group(s) to recover damages for all members of the group(s) without the necessity of each member filing an individual lawsuit or appearing as an individual plaintiff. Class actions are used by the courts where claims raise issues of law or facts that are common to all members of the class, thereby making it fair to bind all class members to the orders and judgments in the case, without the necessity of hearing essentially the same claims over and over. Use of the class action eliminates the necessity of filing multiple lawsuits and assures that all class members are bound by the results in a single lawsuit.

This class action settlement includes all persons employed by Magellan as an exempt employee “Care Manager” or “Senior Care Manager” in California during the Class Period (the “Class Members”).

The lawsuit claims that Magellan failed to pay persons employed as “Care Manager” or “Senior Care Manager” overtime pay and provide accurate wage statements.  The Named Plaintiffs also pursued derivative claims for unfair competition, wage statement penalties, waiting time penalties, and civil penalties.

You can ask questions about the lawsuit or review the Settlement Agreement by contacting Class Counsel, the Law Office of Sheldon A. Ostroff, 3636 Fourth Avenue, Ste. 200, San Diego, CA 92103, or by contacting the Court-appointed Settlement Administrator at: Coffin v Magellan, PO BOX 23309, Jacksonville, FL 32241, (888) 768-7141, or at info@ coffinsettlement.com. You may also review the Settlement Agreement on the Important Documents section of this website.

Magellan denies all of the Named Plaintiffs’ allegations. Specifically, Magellan contends, among other things, that it lawfully classified “Care Managers” and/or “Senior Care Managers” as exempt employees, did properly/lawfully compensate “Care Managers” and “Senior Care Managers” under California law or any other law, and that it provided “Care Managers” and “Senior Care Managers” with California compliant wage statements; that the Named Plaintiffs’ derivative claims for unfair competition, wage statement penalties, waiting time penalties, and civil penalties must fail because the Named Plaintiffs cannot demonstrate any violation of the California Labor Code; that a class could not be appropriately certified in the Action; and if a class were certified, Magellan’s defenses to the Named Plaintiffs’ claims would be applicable to the claims of the Class Members.

After good-faith negotiations presided over by a private mediator, in which both sides recognized the substantial risk of an uncertain outcome, the parties in the Action (the “Parties”) agreed to settle the Action pursuant to the terms and conditions outlined in the Settlement Agreement.

Magellan will pay a Maximum Settlement Amount of $475,000.00 to fund all payments under the Settlement. The Parties estimate that, after subtracting attorneys’ fees and costs, settlement administration costs, Private Attorneys General Act penalties, and the Named Plaintiffs’ Service Awards, approximately $231,250.00 will be available for distribution to Class Members on a pro rata basis.

Attorneys’ fees and costs. Class Counsel will seek approval from the Court for payment of attorneys’ fees in the amount of 30% of the Maximum Settlement Amount, or $142,500.00, and reasonable litigation costs in an amount not to exceed $60,000.00. All the attorneys representing the Named Plaintiffs believe the amount for attorneys’ fees and costs is fair and reasonable, and Magellan will not oppose their request for these amounts.

Service Awards. In addition to their share as Class Members participating in the Settlement, , each of the Named Plaintiffs will each receive a Service Award in the amount of $5,000.00 for their services as class representatives as well as their willingness to accept the risk of paying Magellan’s fees and costs in the event of an unsuccessful outcome.

Payroll tax obligations. All payroll taxes and withholdings attributable to the wage component of the Individual Settlement Payments shall be paid from the Maximum Settlement Amount.

Settlement administration costs. The costs of administering the Settlement are estimated at this time to be approximately $15,000 and will be paid from the Maximum Settlement Amount.

Payment to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. The sum of $11,250.00 will be allocated to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, which sum represents its share of the Maximum Settlement Amount, and is attributable to the civil penalties provided for in the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, California Labor Code section 2698, et seq.

Your estimated Individual Settlement Payment was shown on the Notice that you received. One-third of this amount is designated as wages from which payroll taxes and other required withholdings will be deducted. Your estimated payment was calculated using Magellan’s employee records. For a full explanation of how the payments are calculated, you can review Section 4 of the Settlement Agreement, or call Class Counsel, or contact the Settlement Administrator at: Coffin v Magellan, PO BOX 23309, Jacksonville, FL 32241, (888) 768-7141.

YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO MAKE A CLAIM TO RECEIVE THE BENEFITS OF THE SETTLEMENT. If the Court grants final approval of the Settlement and you do not request to be excluded from the Settlement, you will be mailed your Individual Settlement Payment and will not incur any legal fees.

If you do not want to be legally bound by the Settlement, you must exclude yourself by February 18^th, 2025. To do so, you must mail a written Request for Exclusion to the Settlement Administrator and counsel for the Parties at the addresses below that states, in effect: “I worked for Magellan as a “Care Manager” and/or “Senior Care Manager” during the Class Period. I request to be excluded from the Settlement in Coffin, et al., v. Magellan HRSC, Inc., Case No 1:20-cv-00144- DHU-GJF, U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.” The request must also include your full name, mailing address, last four digits of your Social Security number, and telephone number, and you must personally sign the request. If you exclude yourself, you will not receive money from this Settlement, but you will retain your legal rights regarding any claims that you may have for allegedly unpaid rest breaks.

You may also object to the Settlement by February 18^th, 2025. If you want to object to the Settlement, you must file a written statement with the Court by February 18^th, 2025. No Class Member shall be entitled to be heard at the Final Approval hearing or to object to the Settlement unless written notice of the Class Member’s objection and intention to appear has been filed with the Court and served on counsel for the Parties by the deadline listed above.

Objections shall be filed with the Court either by mailing the objection to the Clerk of the Court or delivering the objection in person to United States District Court, District of New Mexico, 333 Lomas Boulevard, 2^nd Floor, Albuquerque, NM 87102. Objections shall also be served on Class Counsel, the Law Office of Sheldon A. Ostroff, 3636 Fourth Avenue, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92103, and on counsel for Magellan, Mark D. Temple and Sabrina L. Shadi of Baker & Hostetler, LLP, 1900 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 2700, Los Angeles, CA 90067.

You must notify the Settlement Administrator of any changes to your mailing address so that your Individual Settlement Payment will be sent to the correct address. You can update your mailing address on this website or by sending an email to: info@coffinsettlement.com or by mail at: Coffin v Magellan, PO BOX 23309, Jacksonville, FL 32241, (888) 768-7141 or by contacting Class Counsel, the Law Office of Sheldon A. Ostroff, 3636 Fourth Avenue, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92103, (619) 232-3122 or (619) 881-1254.

The Court will hold a hearing in this case on Wednesday April 30^th, 2025 at 2:00 pm , in Courtroom 4C, United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, 333 Lomas Boulevard, 2^nd Floor, Albuquerque, NM 87102. At that time, the Court will consider whether: (1) to approve the Maximum Settlement Amount in the amount of $475,000.00; (2) to approve a request for Service Awards for Named Plaintiffs Christie Coffin, Kimberly Willmott and Brenda Kasaty for their service to the Class Members in the amount of $5,000.00 each; (3) to approve a request by Class Counsel for an award of attorneys’ fees of $142,500.00 and reasonable costs of no more than $60,000.00 incurred in litigating the Class Action; (4) to approve Settlement Administration Costs of $15,000.00; and (5) to approve Private Attorneys General Act penalties of $15,000.00, of which $11,250.00 is to be paid to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, with the remaining balance of $231,250.00 to be distributed to Participating Class Members as part of the Individual Settlement Payments. You may appear at the hearing, but you are not required to do so.