Seilhamer v. Guitar Center Stores

COURT-APPROVED NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND
HEARING DATE FOR FINAL COURT APPROVAL
Seilhamer v. Guitar Center Stores, Inc.
Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. 23STCV00544

The Superior Court for the State of California authorized this Notice. Read it Carefully!
It’s not junk mail, spam, an advertisement, or solicitation by a lawyer. You are not being sued.

You may be eligible to receive money from an employee class action lawsuit (“Action”) against Guitar Center Stores, Inc. (“Defendant” is used herein as a placeholder) for alleged wage and hour violations. The Action was brought by two former employees, Benjamin Seilhamer and Trevor West (“Plaintiffs”), and seeks payment of (1) back wages and other relief for a class of non-exempt employees (“Class Members”) who worked for Defendant during the Class Period (January 11, 2020 through July 11, 2025); and (2) penalties under the California Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) for all non-exempt employees who worked for Defendant during the PAGA Period (January 11, 2022 through July 11, 2025) (“Aggrieved Employees”).

The proposed Settlement has two main parts: (1) a Class Settlement requiring Defendant to fund Individual Class Payments, and (2) a PAGA Settlement requiring Defendant to fund individual PAGA Payments and pay penalties to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (“LWDA”).

The Court has already preliminarily approved the proposed Settlement and approved the Notice. The Court has not yet decided whether to grant final approval. Your legal rights are affected whether you act or not act. Read the Notice carefully. You will be deemed to have carefully read and understood it. At the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will decide whether to finally approve the Settlement and how much of the Settlement will be paid to Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs attorneys (“Class Counsel”). The Court will also decide whether to enter a judgment that requires Defendant to make payments under the Settlement and requires Class Members and Aggrieved Employees to give up their rights to assert certain claims against Defendant.

If you worked for Defendant during the Class Period and/or the PAGA Period, you have two basic options under the Settlement:

(1)

Do Nothing. You don’t have to do anything to participate in the proposed Settlement and be eligible for an Individual Class Payment and/or an Individual PAGA Payment. As a Participating Class Member, though, you will give up your right to assert the Released Class Claims and Released PAGA Claims against Defendant.

(2)

Opt-Out of the Class Settlement. You can exclude yourself from the Class portion of the Settlement (opt-out) by submitting a written Request for Exclusion or otherwise notifying the Administrator in writing. If you opt-out of the Settlement, you will not receive an Individual Class Payment. You will, however, preserve your right to personally pursue the Released Class Claims against Defendant, and, if you are an Aggrieved Employee, remain eligible for an Individual PAGA Payment. You cannot opt-out of the PAGA portion of the proposed Settlement.

Defendant will not retaliate against you for any actions you take with respect to the proposed Settlement.

SUMMARY OF YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT

You Don’t Have to Do Anything to Participate in the Settlement.If you do nothing, you will be a Participating Class Member, eligible for an Individual Class Payment and an Individual PAGA Payment (if any). In exchange, you will give up your right to assert the wage claims against Defendant that are covered by this Settlement (Released Claims).
You Can Opt-out of the Class Settlement but not the PAGA Settlement.

The Opt-out Deadline is September 1, 2026		If you don’t want to fully participate in the proposed Settlement, you can opt-out of the Class Settlement by sending the Administrator a written Request for Exclusion. Once excluded, you will be a Non-Participating Class Member and no longer eligible for an Individual Class Payment. Non-Participating Class Members cannot object to any portion of the proposed Settlement. See Section 6 of the Notice.

You cannot opt-out of the PAGA portion of the proposed Settlement. Defendant must pay Individual PAGA Payments to all Aggrieved Employees and the Aggrieved Employees must give up their rights to pursue Released Claims (defined below).
Participating Class Members Can Object to the Class Settlement but not the PAGA Settlement.

Written Objections Must be Submitted by September 1, 2026.		All Class Members who do not opt-out (“Participating Class Members”) can object to any aspect of the proposed Settlement. The Court’s decision whether to finally approve the Settlement will include a determination of how much will be paid to Class Counsel and Plaintiffs who pursued the Action on behalf of the Class. You are not personally responsible for any payments to Class Counsel or Plaintiff, but every dollar paid to Class Counsel and Plaintiffs reduces the overall amount paid to Participating Class Members.

You can object to the amounts requested by Class Counsel or Plaintiffs if you think they are unreasonable. See Section 7 of the Notice.
You Can Participate in the October 2, 2026 Final Approval Hearing.The Court’s Final Approval Hearing is scheduled to take place on October 2, 2026. You don’t have to attend but you do have the right to appear (or hire an attorney to appear on your behalf at your own cost), in person, by telephone or by using the Court’s virtual appearance platform. Participating Class Members can verbally object to the Settlement at the Final Approval Hearing. See Section 8 of the Notice.
You Can Challenge the Calculation of Your Workweeks/Pay Periods.

Written Challenges Must be Submitted by September 1, 2026.		The amount of your Individual Class Payment and PAGA Payment (if any) depend on how many weeks you worked at least one day during the Class Period and how many pay periods you worked at least one day during the PAGA Period, respectively. The number of Class Period Workweeks and number of PAGA Pay Periods you worked according to Defendant’s records is stated on the first page of the Notice. If you disagree with either of these numbers, you must challenge it by September 1, 2026. See Section 4 of the Notice.