Saffer v. Convalt Energy, Inc.
- Barbara Moses
- 1:24-cv-01850
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Saffer v. Convalt Energy, Judge Moses ordered plaintiff to submit authenticated counsel billing records and any contingency-fee agreement before reviewing the FLSA settlement.
Robert Saffer and his counsel, who were ordered to provide the billing, expense, and fee-agreement materials; the settlement-approval request remained under review.
What happened
In Saffer v. Convalt Energy, Inc., the parties told the court they had settled their claims and counterclaims, including claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal wage-and-hour law.
They asked the court to approve their settlement under the Second Circuit’s requirements for reviewing Fair Labor Standards Act settlements. The parties also agreed that Judge Moses could decide that request and enter a final order.
Judge Moses ordered Robert Saffer to submit his lawyer’s contemporaneous time and expense records, properly authenticated, and any contingency-fee agreement by October 21, 2024. The order did not decide whether to approve the settlement.
The detailed version
- Saffer v. Convalt Energy, Inc. · No. 1:24-cv-01850
- Barbara Moses
- Oct. 15, 2024
Background
The parties reported that they had settled their claims and counterclaims, including claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). They asked the court to approve the settlement under the Second Circuit’s requirements for judicial review of FLSA settlements. The parties consented under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) to have United States Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses decide the settlement-approval request and enter a final order.
Judge Schofield had directed the parties to submit evidence supporting the conclusion that the settlement was fair and reasonable. The opinion states that this evidence must include contemporaneous billing records for each attorney. These are records made at or near the time the legal work was performed and must identify the date, hours spent, and nature of the work.
Order
Because the parties’ settlement papers did not include plaintiff’s counsel’s billing records, the court ordered Robert Saffer to submit, by October 21, 2024, his counsel’s properly authenticated contemporaneous time and expense records, along with any contingency-fee agreement with counsel.
The order required additional materials for the court’s review. It did not state that the settlement was approved or rejected.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.