Destination Maternity Class Action Settlement Approved

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A California federal judge has given preliminary approval to a proposed Destination Maternity class action settlement, despite his opinion that the settlement is inadequate. Two months prior, the same judge denied this same Destination Maternity class action settlement, which would have offered $25 in gift cards to qualifying Class Members in exchange for resolving privacy action claims against Destination Maternity Corp.

On July 20, U.S. District Judge George King conditionally approved the proposed Destination Maternity settlement, which would resolve consumer claims that Destination Maternity stores illegally request consumers’ phone numbers when paying with credit cards.

However, Judge King did not acknowledge that that the proposed class action settlement was “fair, just, reasonable and adequate,” as is stated in the standard approval order. Instead, he crossed out this phrase and substituted with his own words, saying the Destination Maternity settlement is “within the range of an approvable settlement such that notice should be given to the class,” according to the preliminary settlement approval order.

Back in May of this year, Judge King shot down the proposed settlement, finding that plaintiff Alana Schwartz needed to give an explanation for why some Class Members were or were not included in the Destination Maternity settlement. Additionally, the judge wanted to know why the $25 store gift cards for eligible Class Members were considered a fair award, given that California Civil Code allows the recovery of $250 for a single violation of the code and up to $1,000 per every violation after the first.

In response to the judge’s denial of the proposed Destination Maternity class action settlement, Schwartz responded that the gift cards seemed like a fair deal, given the uncertainty of continued court litigation as well as the possibility that the court could potentially impose smaller nominal penalties.

Schwartz originally filed this Destination Maternity class action lawsuit in July 2012 against the company and its various other store names, including Motherhood Maternity and A Pea in a Pod. The plaintiff claims she made two credit card transactions at one of these Destination maternity stores and was asked for her cell phone number. During litigation, Swartz’s complaint had been dismissed in April 2014, but she was given leave to amend the Destination Maternity class action lawsuit. Eventually, both parties involved in this class action entered into mediation during December 2014, which led to the current proposed settlement deal.

Despite his reservations concerning the adequacy of the proposed Destination Maternity class action settlement, Judge King has given his preliminary approval and has asked the plaintiff’s counsel to submit a motion for final approval, along with plaintiff’s incentive award and attorney’s fees, within 30 days of the approved order.

The plaintiff is represented by Kenneth Alan Goldman of the Law Office of Kenneth Goldman PC and James Timothy Ryan of James T. Ryan PC.

The Destination Maternity Class Action Lawsuit is Alana Schwartz v. Destination Maternity Corporation, et al., Case No. 2:14-cv-01477, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.