Santana v. DeJuan Stroud, Inc.
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:18-cv-03402
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Santana v. DeJuan Stroud, Judge Broderick approved the revised settlement, including fees and costs, and dismissed the action with prejudice.
Federico Santana, his counsel, and DeJuan Stroud, Inc. and the other defendants were affected by the approved settlement and dismissal.
What happened
Santana v. DeJuan Stroud, Inc. involved the parties’ revised proposed settlement agreement. The court had previously rejected the original agreement without prejudice because its release was too broad and allowed the parties either to revise it or abandon settlement.
The revised agreement changed the release to address the court’s concerns. The court found the revised release and the overall agreement fair and reasonable. The total settlement was $22,500: $14,733.34 for Federico Santana, $7,366.66 in attorney’s fees, and $400 in costs.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick approved the settlement and dismissed the action with prejudice. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims in detail.
The detailed version
- Santana v. DeJuan Stroud, Inc. · No. 1:18-cv-03402
- Vernon Broderick
- Nov. 1, 2019
Background
On May 28, 2019, the court denied the parties’ original proposed settlement agreement without prejudice because it included an overbroad release. The court gave the parties two options: submit a revised agreement addressing the identified problems or file a joint letter stating that they would abandon settlement.
The parties submitted a revised settlement agreement. The revised agreement amended the release as directed in the May 28 order.
Court’s Analysis
The court reviewed the revised agreement, the parties’ supporting letters, and detailed billing records from plaintiff’s counsel. It found that the revised release complied with the requirements in the May 28 order and was fair and reasonable.
The total settlement amount was $22,500. Federico Santana was to receive $14,733.34. His counsel was to receive $7,366.66 for attorney’s fees and $400 for costs. The court stated that Santana’s recovery was approximately 23 percent of the back wages that would have been available after trial if he succeeded on all claims. It found that percentage within the range other courts had considered reasonable.
The court also found the requested attorney’s fees reasonable. Counsel would receive one-third of the total settlement amount after costs were deducted, and the court noted that courts in the district routinely considered a one-third fee reasonable in cases involving the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Disposition
Judge Vernon S. Broderick approved the settlement and dismissed the action with prejudice.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.