Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the purpose of the Notice?

The Lawsuit seeks recovery of wages, penalties, and related amounts that Plaintiff contends are owed to all current and former hourly employees who worked for Defendant in its retail stores in California from October 29, 1997, to April 23, 2009. The Court has certified a class action in the Lawsuit. Members of the class have an opportunity to exclude themselves from the Lawsuit and the Settlement, as described in these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). The Court has not rendered any decisions on the merits of the Lawsuit.

During the Lawsuit, attorneys for the Plaintiff Class and attorneys for Defendant engaged in mediation with an experienced mediator, Hunter R. Hughes, III. In addition, counsel for the parties have engaged in numerous discussions in an attempt to resolve the Lawsuit. The parties have reached an agreement to settle the Lawsuit, subject to the approval of the Court.

2. Who is included in the certified class?

The Lawsuit is being settled as a “class action.” In a class action, the plaintiff, also referred to as class representative, sues on behalf of himself and other persons with similar claims.

The Court has certified a class in this Lawsuit. The class (“Plaintiff Class”) is defined as follows:

The Plaintiff Class is comprised of all persons who, at any time from October 29, 1997 through and including April 23, 2009, (the “Class Period”), have been or were employed or are currently employed in an hourly (or non-exempt) position by Lowe’s HIW, Inc. in Lowe’s retail stores in the State of California.

If the Court approves the settlement, the settlement will bind all members of the Plaintiff Class who have not excluded themselves from the Plaintiff Class. If the Court does not approve this settlement, all current members of the certified class will remain class members, but the Settlement Agreement will have no effect or precedential value in any subsequent proceedings in the Lawsuit or in any other litigation.

3. Who is excluded (not included) in the certified class?

Individuals who do not fit the definition of Plaintiff Class as described in Frequently Asked Question 2 or those who received the Class Notice in 2008 and elected to be excluded are not included in the Settlement Class. If you excluded yourself from the Settlement Class, you will remain as such unless the Opt In Form is completed and returned along with a Claim Form to the Claims Administrator at Lopez v. Lowe’s HIW Settlement, P.O. Box 4098, Portland, OR, 97208-9620 by September 2, 2009.

4. What is a class action?

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 to recover damages for all members of the group, without the necessity of each member filing an individual lawsuit or appearing as an individual plaintiff. Class actions are used by courts where the claims raise issues of law or fact that are common to all members of the class, thereby making it fair to bind all class members to the orders and the judgment 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 of a single lawsuit.

5. How can I file a claim?

If you want to be eligible to receive a payment as part of this settlement, you must submit a Claim Form. To complete the Claim Form, you must declare under penalty of perjury that you performed work off the clock and/or were not paid straight time wages or overtime wages while working for Defendant as a member of the Plaintiff Class during the Class Period. For the purposes of this settlement, “off the clock” includes time spent helping customers before you clocked in or after you clocked out, being “locked in” the store at the end of a shift, having a meal or rest break interrupted, and any other time spent under the Defendant’s control when not clocked in during the Class Period.If you do not properly complete and mail the Claim Form in a timely manner, you will not receive any payment under the settlement.

Claim Forms must be mailed to:
Lopez v. Lowe's HIW Settlement, P.O. Box 4098, Portland OR, 97208-9620

You may download a copy of the Claim Form under the Important Documents heading of this website. Please follow the directions on the Claim Form carefully. If you require assistance, you may contact the Administrator at 1-888-266-9440.

Please Note: If you have previously excluded yourself from this Settlement and wish to opt back into the Settlement, you must complete an Opt-in Form and send it along with your Claim Form, to the Settlement Administrator at the address above postmarked no later than September 2, 2009.

6. How can I exclude myself from this Settlement?

You may exclude yourself from the Plaintiff Class if you have not previously done so. To do so, you must complete and sign the Request for Exclusion Form included with your Notice and return it to: Lopez v. Lowe's HIW Settlement, P.O. Box 4098, Portland, Oregon, 97208-9620, postmarked no later than August 3, 2009.

If you received a Notice regarding this settlement in 2008 and excluded yourself from the Plaintiff Class, you would not have received an exclusion form with your Notice but instead, an Opt In Form giving you an opportunity to opt back into the settlement. The deadline to submit this form is also August 3, 2009 and it must be mailed to the above address.

If you received a Notice regarding this settlement in 2008 and chose to remain a member of the Plaintiff Class, you do not have an opportunity to Exclude yourself.

If you request to be excluded from the settlement, you will not receive any cash payment from the settlement, and you will not release any claims. Any member of the Plaintiff Class who does not provide the Administrator with a timely Request for Exclusion Form shall be bound by all the terms and conditions of the settlement, including, without limitation, the releases provided for in the Settlement Agreement and any Final Judgment entered by the Court, whether or not that member of the Plaintiff Class submits a Claim Form.

7. How can I object to this Settlement?

You have the right to object to the settlement. To do so, you must file with the Court and serve on Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel (at the addresses set forth below), no later than August 3, 2009 a written statement stating your objection to the settlement and the basis for your objection, along with any and all documents that support your objection. No member of the Plaintiff Class shall be entitled to be heard at the Settlement Approval Hearing or object to the settlement, and no written objections or briefs submitted by any member of the Plaintiff Class shall be received or considered by the Court at the Settlement Approval Hearing, unless written notice of the member of the Plaintiff Class’s intention to appear at the Settlement Approval Hearing, and copies of any written objections or briefs, shall have been filed with the Court and served on Class Counsel and Defendant’s counsel on or before August 3, 2009 as follows:

Members of the Plaintiff Class who fail to file and serve timely written objections in the manner specified above shall be deemed to have waived any objections to the settlement and shall forever be foreclosed from making any objection (whether by appeal or otherwise) to the settlement, or any aspect of the settlement, including, without limitation, the fairness, reasonableness or adequacy of the proposed settlement, or any award of attorneys’ fees or reimbursement of costs and expenses.

8. Who represents the class?

The Court has appointed the following attorneys to be Class Counsel for the purpose of representing the interests of the class:

Class Counsel Can Be Contacted At the Telephone Numbers Above

9. Who represents defendant Lowe's et. al.?

Defendants are represented by:

Hunton & Williams LLP
Phillip J. Eskenazi, Esq.
550 South Hope Street
Suite 2000
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Tel. 213.532.2000
Fax 213.532.2020

10. How will the attorney's be paid?

Class Counsel have litigated this matter since October 29, 2001. It is customary for courts to award to class counsel attorneys’ fees based upon a percentage of the potential maximum settlement amount for the benefit of a class. In this case, Class Counsel will request an award of 33 1/3% ($9,833,333.34) of the Maximum Settlement Amount. Class Counsel will also seek reimbursement of the costs and expenses they have incurred on behalf of the Plaintiff Class, estimated to be no more than $300,000, to be paid from the Maximum Settlement Amount.

11. How are the payments calculated?

All settlement administrative fees and costs, the incentive award to the Class Representative, the attorneys’ fees and costs that the Court awards to Class Counsel, and other associated expenses shall be subtracted from the Maximum Settlement Amount. The funds remaining after payment of all of these amounts are designated as the “Potential Gross Individual Settlement Proceeds,” which is the amount available for distribution to Settlement Class Members, i.e., members of the Plaintiff Class who submit completed, signed Claim Forms to the Administrator on a timely basis. The amount available for distribution to each member of the Plaintiff Class shall be calculated based upon a formulate set forth in paragraph 7(c) of the Settlement Agreement:

1. Individual Settlement Award: Based upon the preliminary calculations, a class member can expect to receive approximately $103 (before taxes) for every $10,000 that the class member earned during the class period.

   The Individual Settlement Awards payable to Settlement Class Members will be allocated as follows: twenty-five percent (25%) to alleged unpaid wages for overtime which will be reported to the IRS on Form W-2; and seventy-five percent (75%) to alleged interest and alleged penalties which will be reported to the IRS on Form 1099. Defendant reserves the right to alter these percentages depending upon its review of the tax treatment of the foregoing.

2. Claimed Settlement Amount; Unclaimed Amount: The total Individual Settlement Awards claimed by Settlement Class Members shall be the “Claimed Settlement Amount”. If each and every member of the Plaintiff Class is a Settlement Class Member, then the Claimed Settlement Amount shall equal the Potential Gross Individual Settlement Proceeds and all Individual Settlement Awards shall be distributed to all members of the Plaintiff Class. Any member of the Plaintiff Class who does not become a Settlement Class Member shall not receive any Individual Settlement Awards or any Claimed Settlement Amount. Any portion of the Potential Gross Individual Settlement Proceeds that is not distributed to Settlement Class Members shall be retained by Defendant.

3. Tax Liability and Net Payments: The payment by Defendant pursuant to the settlement is for alleged failure to pay compensation due, interest on said sum, penalties, and all other claims as set forth in the Complaint. In accordance with both State and Federal tax laws, Defendant shall withhold such sums from each Settlement Class Member’s Individual Settlement Award as is required in order to comply with the same. Portions of any Individual Settlement Award not subject to withholding will be issued with a 1099 form. After appropriate tax withholding, the net payment to be received by each Settlement Class Member shall be designated as the “Net Payment”, and said sum shall be paid as provided in the Settlement Agreement. Defendant shall report the taxes withheld from the wages of each Settlement Class Member as required by law via a W-2 form, and shall immediately pay over all such withheld funds, plus the employer’s contribution, to the appropriate State and Federal taxing authorities. Defendant shall provide each Settlement Class Member with appropriate documentation setting forth the amount of any tax or other payment withheld, and employer contribution made, in accordance with State and Federal tax requirements. In addition, Defendant shall provide such information to the Administrator and to Class Counsel. Settlement Class Members shall be responsible for remitting to State and/or Federal taxing authorities any applicable other taxes due and shall hold Defendant harmless and indemnify it for any liabilities, costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, assessed or caused by any such taxing authority relating in any way to the tax treatment of the payments made pursuant to the Settlement Agreement.

4. Payment of Settlement Funds Will Be Considered By Defendant As Having No Effect on Any Employee Benefit Plan and Similar Plans: The payment to any member of the Plaintiff Class as provided for in the Settlement Agreement is not and shall not be deemed by Defendant to constitute an addition to, a modification of, or a change in any previously credited hours of service, compensation and/or wages under any employee benefit plan, employment policy, or stock option plan of or sponsored by Defendant or any of its present or former parent corporations or affiliates or any jointly trusteed benefit plans. Any such payment to any member of the Plaintiff Class shall not be considered by Defendant to form the basis for additional contributions to, additional benefits under, or any other additional entitlements under any employee benefit plan, employment policy, or stock option plan of or sponsored by Defendant or any of its present or former parent corporations or affiliates or any jointly trusteed benefit plans. Defendant and each of its present and former parent corporations and affiliates retain the right to modify and/or amend the language of their employee benefit plans, employment policies, and stock option plans, and to seek to have modified and/or amended the language of any jointly trusteed benefit plans, to make clear that any amounts paid as a result of the Settlement Agreement are not considered by Defendant as compensation or wages, or payments for “hours worked,” as defined by the applicable plans and policies, and that no additional contributions or benefits will be provided by Defendant by reason of the settlement. Plaintiff takes no position on the issues in this section.

12. When will the Court decide the case?

A hearing (the “Settlement Approval Hearing”) has been scheduled on September 21, 2009, at 8:30 AM before the Court, the Honorable Aurelio N. Munoz presiding, in department 47 of the Los Angeles Superior Court, located at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, at which time the Court will determine: (1) whether the proposed settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate to members of the Plaintiff Class; (2) whether the application of Class Counsel for an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses should be approved and in what amount; (3) whether the application for an incentive payment for Plaintiff should be approved and in what amount; and (4) whether a proposed Final Approval Order should be entered and recommended to the Court.

You Are Not Required To Attend The Settlement Approval Hearing. You are welcome to attend the Settlement Approval Hearing, at your own expense. You may request permission to speak to the Court at the Settlement Approval Hearing. You may hire your own attorney at your own expense to speak at the SettlementApproval Hearing. If you want to speak at the Settlement Approval Hearing, you must ask the Court for permission. To do so, send a letter to the Court (at the address set forth above in this Section of this Notice) with a copy to the Administrator (at the address set forth in Section VI of this Notice), Class Counsel and Defendant’s counsel (at the addresses set forth Section XIII of this Notice) no later than August 3, 2009, requesting permission to speak at the Settlement Approval Hearing. Such letter should be signed and should contain a brief statement of the position that you wish to put before the Court at the Settlement Approval Hearing and the basis for that position. The Court may, or may not, grant the request. If the Court issues a proposed Final Approval Order, the parties will jointly seek the Court’s approval and adoption of the Final Approval Order and a dismissal of the Lawsuit with prejudice.

13. How can I get more information regarding this case?

For more detailed information concerning the matters involved in the Lawsuit, please refer to the Settlement Agreement, the Order entered by the Court in the Lawsuit, and other important documents in the Lawsuit, which may be inspected under the Important Documents heading of this website.

Any questions concerning the matters contained in the Notice may be directed to the Settlement Administrator at Lopez v. Lowe's HIW Settlement, P.O. Box 4098, Portland OR, 97208-9620, or by calling toll free at 1-888-266-9440.

You may also seek the advice and counsel of your own attorney, at your own expense, if you desire.