Lopez v. Thermo Tech Mechanical Inc.
- Laura Swain
- 1:20-cv-09113
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Lopez v. Thermo Tech Mechanical Inc., Judge Swain found Defendants’ offer unclear and allowed them to submit a renewed offer.
Juan Lopez and Defendants Thermo Tech Mechanical Inc., Gowkarran Budhu, and Shanti Budhu.
What happened
In Lopez v. Thermo Tech Mechanical Inc., Defendants argued that a prior $40,000 offer of judgment made Juan Lopez’s remaining individual Fair Labor Standards Act claim moot because it offered the maximum possible recovery.
The court explained that an offer must cover all possible relief, including damages, attorney’s fees, and costs, to make the case moot. The prior offer did not clearly say whether the $40,000 included those amounts or explain how the figure was calculated.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain allowed Defendants to file a renewed offer by May 30, 2025, with clearer terms. If Lopez rejects it, he must explain why it does not cover all possible relief; the order did not finally decide whether the case was moot.
The detailed version
- Lopez v. Thermo Tech Mechanical Inc. · No. 1:20-cv-09113
- Laura Swain
- May 27, 2025
Background
The court received the parties’ joint status letter dated May 23, 2025. Defendants argued that their earlier offer of judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 made Juan Lopez’s remaining individual claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act moot. They relied on the argument that the offer provided the maximum recovery available to Lopez.
The earlier offer of judgment, filed on July 12, 2024, offered $40,000. The opinion states that the offer did not clearly identify whether that amount included all damages, attorney’s fees, and litigation costs, or explain how the amounts were calculated. The Fair Labor Standards Act provides for reasonable attorney’s fees and costs in addition to any judgment awarded.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that an offer of judgment does not make a case moot if it fails to cover all possible relief, including damages, costs, and attorney’s fees. Because the prior offer did not clearly address those categories, the court found a deficiency in the offer.
The order did not decide that Lopez’s claim was moot or otherwise resolve the merits of the Fair Labor Standards Act claim.
Order
The court allowed Defendants to file a renewed offer of judgment by May 30, 2025. The renewed offer must clearly identify every type of relief it covers and state its terms. If Lopez rejects the renewed offer, he must file a response within 14 days after the offer is filed and show why the offer is insufficient to cover all possible relief, such that the case should not be dismissed as moot.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.