Ponniah v. Island Cellular Group
Damien Ponniah, on behalf of himself and all other persons similarly situated v. Island Cellular Group, Inc. and Ashish Kapoorthe
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:24-cv-08703
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Damien Ponniah v. Island Cellular Group, Judge Aaron ordered the parties to file a judgment offer or settlement-approval papers by July 24, 2026.
The parties to the Fair Labor Standards Act case—Damien Ponniah, Island Cellular Group, Inc., and Ashish Kapoorthe—must meet the filing deadline and provide the required settlement materials.
What happened
Damien Ponniah v. Island Cellular Group concerns claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The parties reached a settlement at a July 7, 2026, settlement conference and later agreed that Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron would handle all proceedings.
Judge Aaron ordered the parties to file, by July 24, 2026, either an accepted offer of judgment under Rule 68 or a joint letter or motion asking the court to approve the settlement under the standards described in Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc.
The order requires any motion or joint letter to address the claims, defenses, potential monetary exposure, settlement calculations, case strengths and weaknesses, negotiation process, attorney-fee arrangement, the lawyers’ hours and experience, and the settlement agreement itself. Judge Aaron did not approve the settlement in this order.
The detailed version
- Ponniah v. Island Cellular Group · No. 1:24-cv-08703
- Vernon Broderick
- July 15, 2026
Background
The opinion states that the case contains claims arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The parties reached a settlement during a settlement conference before Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron on July 7, 2026. They later consented to have all proceedings held before him.
Order
The court ordered the parties to file, no later than July 24, 2026, either:
- an accepted offer of judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68; or - a joint letter or motion seeking approval of the settlement under the standards described in Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc., 796 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2015).
If the parties file a motion, it must address the claims and defenses, the defendants’ potential monetary exposure and the basis for calculating it, the strengths and weaknesses of the plaintiff’s case and the defendants’ defenses, and any factors explaining a difference between the potential value of the claims and the settlement amount. It must also discuss the litigation and negotiation process and any other issues relevant to whether the settlement is reasonable, including the potential collectability of a judgment after trial.
The joint letter or motion must explain the attorney-fee arrangement, attach the retainer agreement, provide information about the lawyers’ actual hours and relevant experience, and include the settlement agreement.
Disposition
The order directs the parties to submit the specified judgment offer or settlement-approval materials. It does not state that the court approved the settlement, and it does not decide the underlying Fair Labor Standards Act claims. Judge Aaron issued the order on July 15, 2026.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.