Beckwith v. New York City Transit Authority

Background

The plaintiffs submitted a letter seeking approval of their Proposed Settlement Agreement and Release. The opinion identifies the defendant as the New York City Transit Authority and does not describe the claims or the proposed payment terms.

Court’s concern

The court focused on paragraph 5 of the proposed agreement. That provision would prohibit the plaintiffs and their counsel from publicizing the agreement “in any manner,” including through social media or the plaintiffs’ counsel’s website.

The court cited decisions involving settlements under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal wage-and-hour law. Those decisions stated that provisions substantially restricting a plaintiff’s ability to share truthful information about such a settlement or the underlying lawsuit may conflict with public policy because they can prevent other workers from learning about and enforcing their legal rights. The opinion does not expressly state whether the claims in this case arise under that law.

Order

The court did not state that it approved or denied the proposed settlement. Instead, it scheduled a telephone conference for March 12, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, using Microsoft Teams, and directed counsel for all parties to call the listed number and conference identification number.

Effect

The settlement-approval process remained unresolved in this order. The order specifically affects the proposed agreement’s publicity restriction and requires the parties’ counsel to participate in the scheduled conference.