North County Times settles class action with newspaper carriers for $3.2M

A federal judge has granted preliminary approval of a settlement in a class action lawsuit against the North County Times by former newspaper carriers. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel granted preliminary approval in the 2008 class action on Oct. 17, granting $3.2 million to the class members.

The plaintiffs claimed NCT violated multiple California labor codes and routinely made deductions from the class members' wages. For each alleged complaint it received from its customers for, among other things, damaged papers, wet papers and allegedly undelivered papers, NCT would make deductions from their wages, up to $5 per complaint and "redelivery fees," according to the suit.

NCT routinely provided the class members with newspapers in excess of the number that was needed to complete their respective delivery routes, and then routinely made deductions for each extra newspaper and charged class members for their own mandatory subscription to the newspaper, the plaintiffs alleged.

The plaintiffs are represented by C. Keith Greer and Julie A. Lowell of Greer & Associates APC.