Plaintiffs lawyers asked the court on Saturday to grant preliminary approval of the settlements and certify a settlement class of former employees who did technical or creative work or handled research and development. Walt Disney Co. subsidiaries Lucasfilm and Pixar will pay $9 million in cash, and Intuit will shell out $11 million, according to the settlement motion.
The deals, first reached in July, would wipe away all claims against the three companies, but substantial litigation remains in the San Jose federal district court litigation. The plaintiffs, who accuse the companies of a conspiracy to constrain employee compensation by reducing competition for labor, will be moving forward against Adobe, Apple, Google and Intel. According to the settlement filing, Intuit, Lucasfilm and Pixar employees make up less than 8 percent of the proposed class, suggesting the final award to class members if plaintiffs prevail could top $200 million.
