Paulina Cardenas, et al. vs Select Harvest USA, LLC

Hon. Stephanie L. Jamieson Courtroom 8

627 W. 21st Street, Merced

Friday, August 14, 2026 8:15 a.m.

The following tentative rulings shall become the ruling of the court unless a party gives notice of intention to appear as follows: 1. You must call (209) 725-4240 to notify the court of your intent to appear.

2. You must give notice to all other parties before 4:00 p.m. of your intent to appear. Per California Rules of Court, rule 3.1308(a)(1), failure to do both items 1 and 2 will result in no oral argument. Note: Notifying CourtCall (the court’s telephonic appearance provider) of your intent to appear does not satisfy the requirement of notifying the court.

Case No. Title / Description

23CV-00532 Paulina Cardenas, et al. vs Select Harvest USA, LLC

Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action and PAGA Settlement

The unopposed motion for preliminary approval of class action and PAGA settlement is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

The Court has reviewed the motion and accompanying declarations and finds that the majority of the settlement terms are fair and reasonable under the particular circumstances of this case, and conditional certification of the class is appropriate.

However, there are three issues that need to be addressed prior to approval.

First, Plaintiffs request up to $15,000 for the administration fee. This amount is not supported by way of declaration or exhibits. There is no declaration or other evidence of the cost of administration from Apex Class Action, LLC supporting the requested amount.

Second, there are no declarations from the representative plaintiffs that support the requested enhancement payments. Counsel’s declaration alone as to the selected plaintiffs’ time and efforts is insufficient.