Shillingford v. Astra Home Care, Inc.
- Katherine Failla
- 1:16-cv-06785
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Shillingford v. Astra Home Care, Judge Failla approved an FLSA settlement for plaintiffs other than Spencer and directed filing of a partial-dismissal stipulation.
The settlement approval affects the plaintiffs other than Erica Jacob Spencer and the defendants Astra Home Care, Inc. doing business as True Care Home Health Care, Michael Werzberger, Rebecca Rosenzweig, and John Does #1-10.
What happened
In Shillingford v. Astra Home Care, Inc., the plaintiffs other than Erica Jacob Spencer and the defendants jointly asked the court to approve their settlement agreement. The dispute involved claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The court reviewed the settlement for fairness. It found the proposed judgment fair and concluded that the requested attorney’s fees and costs were reasonable, although it did not specifically evaluate the attorneys’ and paralegals’ hourly rates.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla approved the settlement between the defendants and the plaintiffs other than Spencer. She directed the parties to file a fully signed stipulation partially dismissing the case.
The detailed version
- Shillingford v. Astra Home Care, Inc. · No. 1:16-cv-06785
- Katherine Failla
- Dec. 4, 2019
Background
On November 26, 2019, the plaintiffs other than Erica Jacob Spencer and the defendants filed a joint motion asking the court to approve their settlement agreement. They also submitted the agreement to the court. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims or disclose the settlement’s total dollar amount.
Settlement Review
The court reviewed the settlement for fairness under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and applicable Second Circuit law. It found that the proposed judgment was fair.
The settlement provided for attorney’s fees calculated under the lodestar method, which estimates fees by multiplying reasonable hours by reasonable hourly rates. The fees were slightly more than one-third of the total judgment after reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses: 36.5 percent of the judgment, net of costs. The court noted that the requested fees, when compared with the lodestar supported by detailed billing records, produced a multiplier of less than one. It therefore found the request for attorney’s fees and costs reasonable. The court expressly stated that it was not deciding whether the specific rates charged by the plaintiffs’ attorneys and paralegals were reasonable.
Disposition
The court approved the settlement agreement between the defendants and the plaintiffs other than Spencer. It directed the parties to file a fully executed stipulation of partial dismissal. The opinion does not state that the court decided the underlying claims on their merits.
Judge
The order was issued by Katherine Polk Failla, United States District Judge.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.