Gardner Declaration — Plaid Privacy (Dkt. 191.2)

Summary

The Declaration of Melissa Gardner in Support of Post-Distribution Accounting, Document 191-2, filed 08/21/23 in In re Plaid Inc. Privacy Litigation, Master Docket No. 4:20-cv-03056-DMR, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division. Gardner, a partner at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, says the court adjusted class counsel's reported lodestar of $4,394,236 to $4,127,531, a multiplier of 2.66 on the $11 million fee award. She reports an updated lodestar of $4,564,688 through August 4, 2023 and an updated multiplier of 2.41. She also states that class counsel determined that residual settlement funds should go to the cy pres recipients because distribution to claimants is not economically feasible. The declaration is three pages and attaches the Jambekar Declaration as Exhibit 1.

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2833499.1  
 
  
GARDNER DECL ISO PDA 
CASE NO. 4:20-CV-03056-DMR 
 
BURNS CHAREST LLP 
Christopher J. Cormier (Pro Hac Vice) 
ccormier@burnscharest.com 
4725 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 200 
Washington, DC 20016 
Tel: (202) 577-3977 
Fax: (469) 444-5002 
 
HERRERA KENNEDY LLP 
Shawn M. Kennedy (SBN 218472) 
skennedy@herrerakennedy.com 
Bret D. Hembd (SBN 272826) 
bhembd@herrerakennedy.com 
4590 MacArthur Blvd., Suite 500 
Newport Beach, CA 92660 
Tel: (949) 936-0900 
Fax: (855) 969-2050 
 
HERRERA KENNEDY LLP 
Nicomedes Sy Herrera (SBN 275332) 
nherrera@herrerakennedy.com 
Laura E. Seidl (SBN 269891) 
lseidl@herrerakennedy.com 
1300 Clay Street, Suite 600 
Oakland, CA 94612 
Tel: (510) 422-4700 
Fax: (855) 969-2050 
 
Co-Lead Class Counsel 
LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & 
BERNSTEIN, LLP 
Rachel Geman (Pro Hac Vice) 
rgeman@lchb.com 
250 Hudson Street, 8th Floor 
New York, NY 10013-1413 
Tel: (212) 355-9500 
Fax: (212) 355-9592 
 
LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN &  
BERNSTEIN, LLP 
Michael W. Sobol (SBN 194857) 
msobol@lchb.com 
Melissa Gardner (SBN 289096) 
mgardner@lchb.com 
Michael K. Sheen (SBN 288284) 
msheen@lchb.com 
Nicholas R. Hartmann (SBN 301049) 
nhartmann@lchb.com 
275 Battery Street, 29th Floor 
San Francisco, CA 94111-3339 
Tel: (415) 956-1000 
Fax: (415) 956-1008 
 
 
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 
OAKLAND DIVISION 
IN RE PLAID INC. PRIVACY  
LITIGATION 
 
Master Docket No.: 4:20-cv-03056-DMR 
 
DECLARATION OF MELISSA GARDNER 
IN SUPPORT OF POST-DISTRIBUTION 
ACCOUNTING  
 
THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO:  
ALL ACTIONS 
 
Case 4:20-cv-03056-DMR   Document 191-2   Filed 08/21/23   Page 1 of 3

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2833499.1  
 
  
GARDNER DECL ISO PDA 
CASE NO. 4:20-CV-03056-DMR 
 
I, Melissa Gardner, hereby declare as follows: 
1. 
I am a partner at the law firm of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP 
(“Lieff Cabraser”), which was appointed Co-Lead Interim Class Counsel on July 29, 2020 (Dkt. 
57) and Co-Lead Class Counsel on November 19, 2021 (Dkt. 153). I am licensed to practice law 
in the State of California and admitted to practice before this Court. I am over 21 years of age and 
am not a party to this action.  I make this declaration based on my own personal knowledge.  If 
called upon to testify, I could and would testify competently to the truth of the matters stated 
herein.  
2. 
The Settlement Agreement in this action provided that “Plaid shall provide a 
declaration to Class Counsel certifying Plaid’s compliance with, and describing the status of its 
implementation of” injunctive relief provisions enumerated at paragraphs 53-66 of the Settlement 
Agreement.  Dkt. 138-1 at ¶ 70.  Pursuant to this requirement, Plaid’s counsel provided Class 
Counsel with the Declaration of Sheila Jambekar, Plaid’s Chief Privacy Officer, on March 20, 
2023.  A true and correct copy of the Jambekar Declaration is attached hereto as Exhibit 1.  
3. 
In the Court’s Order granting Final Approval and Attorneys’ fees, the Court 
adjusted Class Counsel’s reported lodestar of $4,394,236 through January 25, 2022 to $4,127,531 
resulting in a in a multiplier of 2.66 for the Court’s $11 million fee award. Lieff Cabraser 
requested updated lodestar information for all three Class Counsel firms for the time period 
January 26, 2022 through and including August 4, 2023, and received the following reports: 
Firm 
Fees 
Hours 
Lieff Cabraser 
$240,276.50 
325.10 
Herrera Kennedy 
$140,692.50 
179.6 
Burns Charest 
$56,187.50 
79.40 
4. 
Class Counsel’s work during this period consisted primarily of preparing the 
briefing and argument related to Final Approval and the attorneys’ fee request, corresponding 
with Class members about the Settlement, and working with the Settlement Administrator to 
facilitate claims processing and payments.  Adding the above to the previous total lodestar as 
adjusted by the Court, the updated lodestar calculation for all Co-Lead Counsel is $4,564,688 
through August 4, 2023, and the updated lodestar multiplier for the fee award is 2.41. 
Case 4:20-cv-03056-DMR   Document 191-2   Filed 08/21/23   Page 2 of 3

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2833499.1  
 
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GARDNER DECL ISO PDA 
CASE NO. 4:20-CV-03056-DMR  
 
 
5. 
Class counsel have conferred with the Settlement Administrator and with counsel 
for Plaid, and have determined that pursuant to paragraph 78 of the Settlement Agreement, the 
residual funds in the Settlement Fund should be distributed to the Cy Pres Recipients because it is 
not economically feasible to distribute those funds to the individuals who previously submitted 
claims.  
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct as to all matters of 
which I have personal knowledge. Executed this 21st day of August, 2023, in San Francisco, 
California. 
 
     /s/ Melissa Gardner 
 
          Melissa Gardner  
 
Case 4:20-cv-03056-DMR   Document 191-2   Filed 08/21/23   Page 3 of 3

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