Article updated on March 2, 2023
On July 13, 2021 a San Francisco Superior Court judge gave final approval to a $8.5 million settlement in the case involving “Juicers” who charged Lime scooters and were misclassified as independent contractors. RBGG’s Gay Grunfeld , Jenny Yelin, and Michael Freedman, along with co-counsel Seth Yohalem, represented plaintiff Yassin Olabi in the case.
On December 12, 2022 the court issued an order approving the distribution of more than $300,000 in cy pres funds to four non-profit organizations designated by plaintiffs – Legal Aid at Work, California Rural Legal Assistance, Wage Justice Center, and PowerSwitch Action. The organizations received the payments on February 28, 2023. Under the cy pres doctrine, a court can award any unallocated, unclaimed, or undeliverable funds from a settlement or judgment to a nonprofit organization that would advance the interests of the class. The December 12, 2022 order is here.
While Lime had opposed the distribution to the four recipients proposed by Plaintiffs, Judge Andrew Cheng agreed with Plaintiffs that the four organizations were appropriate cy pres designees. All four organizations provide free employment law services and/or do advocacy work related to workers’ rights, including specifically independent contractor misclassification issues like those present in this litigation.
“We are very pleased the Court recognized the work of these four exemplary non-profits that are fighting the injustices of the gig economy,” said Yelin. “Lime Juicers who worked long hours charging Lime bikes for less than the minimum wage should feel vindicated by this Order.”