In 2018, Shawn Osterback, on behalf of himself, and other then-current and past line haul truck drivers (“Drivers”), filed a court complaint against Sourdough seeking recovery of overtime compensation and liquidated damages under Alaska Statute  23.10.050-150, the Alaska Wage & Hour Act (“AWHA”).  Plaintiff alleges that Drivers were not exempt from the overtime requirements of the AWHA, and that Drivers had worked in excess of eight hours per day and forty hours per week without receiving overtime compensation as required by the AWHA. Sourdough disputed all claims against it, and asserted a variety of defenses, including that the Drivers were exempt employees under a specific exclusion for line haul drivers contained in AS 23.10.060(d)(15). 

In a class action, one or more persons like you, called “Class Representatives” (in this case, Shawn Osterback), sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. A court can decide that certain people are a “Class” or “Class members” whose claims should be brought together in one lawsuit (a “class action”) and this decision by a court is  called “class certification.”  When a class is certified, one court resolves the issues for all Class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class.  In this case, the Court has “certified” the Class for purposes of this settlement.

No Court has decided in favor of either the Defendant or the Plaintiff in this case.  Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement to avoid the cost and risk of a trial, and so that the people allegedly affected can get compensation in exchange for releasing the Defendant and related parties from liability and dismissing the lawsuit.  The Defendant denies any wrongdoing and the settlement does not mean the Defendant admits that it did anything wrong or that it violated any laws. The Class Representative and the lawyers representing the Class think the settlement is in the best interests of the Class.  

The Court has certified the following class for settlement purposes only pursuant to the Settlement Agreement:

All individuals employed by Sourdough Express, Inc., as line haul truck drivers at any time between and through May 1, 2016 and May 31, 2018, who worked for more than eight hours in a day or more than 40 hours in a week.

If you received a Notice in the mail, you have been identified as a Driver who drove one or more line haul routes for Sourdough at any point between those dates, and thus you are a Class Member who will participate in the settlement unless you exclude yourself from the Class as described below.  If you have questions about whether or not you are a Class Member, you may call the Claims Administrator at (833) 594-1990.

The Defendants have established a $700,000 settlement fund to pay valid claims of Class members, as well as lawyers’ fees for Class Counsel and costs Class Counsel advanced on behalf of the Class. The Settlement Agreement, available from Class Counsel and in the official records of these proceedings on file with the Clerk of the Court, describes all the details of the proposed settlement. The final distribution of the settlement fund will be made pursuant to an order of the Court. 

Class Counsel retained the services of an expert who analyzed Sourdough’s time and compensation records for the time period covered by the class action.  Using this information, the expert calculated the amount of overtime compensation claimed by each Class Member under the claims asserted in the complaint.  Because a portion of the settlement will be paid to the Class Counsel for fees and costs and to the Class Representative for his services, Class Counsel has proposed a plan that the Court has preliminarily approved, under which each Class Member will receive one hundred and seventeen (117%) percent of their calculated overtime claim (not including liquidated damages and interest).  The final distribution will be made pursuant to an order of the Court.

If the court grants final approval to the proposed distribution plan, the payment you will receive is stated in the Notice that was mailed to you on August 5, 2021. Because the settlement addresses claims for unpaid wages, a portion of the payment will be subject to standard payroll withholdings before it is paid to you.

Talk to Class Counsel or your own lawyer if you have questions about the compensation available to Class Members.

An independent Court-appointed settlement administrator (“Administrator”) will oversee the distribution of the settlement fund and compensation to Class members.  Settlement Services, Inc. has been appointed by the Court to be the Administrator.

If the settlement becomes final, you will release the Defendant and related parties from all liability for any claims for overtime and for a related penalty under Alaska Statute 23.05.140 through May 31, 2018.  That means you cannot sue them ever again for these claims, and your claims against the Defendant and related parties will be dismissed and released.  These specific claims, called “Released Claims,” are described in the Settlement Agreement that is available upon request from Class Counsel, and in the official records of these proceedings on file with the Court.  Talk to Class Counsel or your own lawyer if you have questions about the Released Claims.  

As a member of the Class, you do not need to do anything further to receive the compensation to which you are entitled under the settlement.  You should make sure, however, that the Administrator and Class Counsel have your current contact information if the address in this mailing is incorrect or if you move or change either your email or postal address.

The Court has scheduled a hearing on November 19, 2021, to decide whether to approve the settlement (see the section on “The Court’s Fairness Hearing”).  However, even if Judge Guidi approves the settlement at that time or sometime after that, there may be appeals.  Any appeal(s) must be resolved before any distributions from the settlement fund can be made, and resolving any such appeal(s) could  take time.  Please be patient.