Flores v. 336 Pub
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:25-cv-03130
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Oscar Flores v. 336 Pub, Judge Broderick ordered a $43,000 Fair Labor Standards Act judgment under Rule 68 despite settlement concerns.
Oscar Flores and the defendants, including 336 Pub, Inc., d/b/a Fitzgerland’s Pub, are affected by the ordered entry of the Rule 68 judgment.
What happened
In Oscar Flores v. 336 Pub, Inc., d/b/a Fitzgerland’s Pub, et al., the parties asked the court to enter judgment based on an accepted offer under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 in a Fair Labor Standards Act case. The offer set the judgment at $43,000, including attorneys’ fees, expenses, and costs.
Judge Broderick said the offer did not state how much would be paid for fees or costs. He also said the information did not allow him to compare the judgment with Oscar Flores’s possible recovery, and that he would likely find those terms unreasonable under the usual review of Fair Labor Standards Act settlements.
Nevertheless, Judge Vernon S. Broderick ruled that a Second Circuit decision required him to enter the judgment. He ordered that judgment be entered under the parties’ Rule 68 offer and acceptance, and stated that the judgment would be filed with the order.
The detailed version
- Flores v. 336 Pub · No. 1:25-cv-03130
- Vernon Broderick
- Sept. 11, 2025
Background
Oscar Flores and the defendants sought entry of judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 in this Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) case. Rule 68 permits a party to make an offer of judgment that the opposing party can accept, after which judgment may be entered under the offer’s terms. The docket materials identified the plaintiff’s acceptance of the offer and the parties’ proposed judgment.
The offer set the judgment amount at $43,000, inclusive of attorneys’ fees, expenses, and costs. It did not state how much of that amount would be paid as attorneys’ fees or costs.
Court’s Analysis
The court discussed the general rule from Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc. that parties generally may not privately settle an FLSA case without court approval or approval from the Department of Labor. That review is intended to account for the FLSA’s remedial purposes, the potential for abuse in settlements, and the disparity in bargaining power between employers and employees.
The court also discussed the Second Circuit’s later decision in Mei Xing Yu v. Hasaki Rest., Inc., which held that court approval is not required for Rule 68 offers of judgment settling FLSA claims. Judge Broderick stated that he had repeatedly expressed concern that this rule could require courts to enter judgments that would not pass the review described in Cheeks.
Judge Broderick said he would likely consider the offer’s terms unreasonable under Cheeks. Because the offer did not identify the amount allocated to attorneys’ fees and costs, he could not evaluate whether those fees were reasonable. He also could not compare the relatively low judgment amount with Flores’s total possible recovery. The court noted that the Second Circuit has required adequate documentation when a settlement provides for attorneys’ fees and costs.
Ruling
Despite those concerns, the court held that Mei Xing Yu required it to sign the proposed judgment. Judge Vernon S. Broderick ordered that judgment be entered in accordance with the parties’ Rule 68 offer and acceptance filed in the case. The court stated that the judgment would be filed at the same time as the order.
Disposition
The court ordered entry of judgment under the parties’ Rule 68 offer and acceptance. The opinion does not state that the court independently approved the settlement under Cheeks or decide the underlying FLSA claims on their merits.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.