Himrod v. Cygnus Medical, LLC
- Analisa Torres
- 1:19-cv-03417
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Himrod v. Cygnus Medical, Judge Torres approved the parties’ wage-settlement and attorney-fee award.
The approved settlement affects Scott Himrod, the named defendants, and Himrod’s counsel. The case was closed after the court approved the agreement and the related fees and costs.
What happened
In Himrod v. Cygnus Medical, Scott Himrod, a former surgical instrumental specialist, sued the defendants under federal and New York wage laws. The parties settled and asked the court to approve their agreement.
The settlement required the defendants to pay $132,500: $87,032.50 to Himrod and $45,467.50 to his attorneys. The court found the agreement fair and reasonable because of the risks of further litigation, the bargaining by experienced counsel, and the agreement’s limited release and other terms.
Judge Analisa Torres granted the motion to approve the settlement and found the attorney fees and $1,951.31 in costs reasonable. The clerk was directed to close the case.
The detailed version
- Himrod v. Cygnus Medical, LLC · No. 1:19-cv-03417
- Analisa Torres
- Jan. 2, 2020
Background
Scott Himrod, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, sued Cygnus Medical, LLC, Madison Polymeric Engineering, Inc., Shaun Sweeney, and Walter L. Maguire, Jr. He alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal wage-and-hour law, and the New York Labor Law. The parties settled and jointly sought court approval of their settlement and an award of attorney fees. After the court directed them to revise the agreement so that the release of claims would be mutual, they submitted a revised settlement.
Settlement Approval
The revised settlement required the defendants to pay $132,500. Himrod was to receive $87,032.50, and his counsel was to receive $45,467.50 in fees, approximately one-third of the settlement. The parties identified Himrod’s possible recovery if he prevailed on all claims as $485,955.15, but also identified significant litigation risks and the possibility that he could recover less or nothing if the case continued. The court found that the settlement resulted from bargaining between experienced counsel and satisfied the factors used to evaluate whether an FLSA settlement is fair and reasonable.
The court also found that the release was not overly broad because it covered only federal, state, or local wage-and-hour claims that were or could have been alleged in the action, and the defendants’ release of Himrod was mutual and similarly tied to those claims. The agreement did not require confidentiality or restrict Himrod’s future employment. Its mutual non-disparagement provision allowed truthful statements about the litigation and settlement.
Attorney Fees and Costs
The court separately evaluated the requested attorney fees. Counsel’s lodestar—the value calculated from attorney hours and billing rates—was $22,530.56, making the requested $45,467.50 approximately 2.23 times the lodestar. The court found the billing rates reasonable, despite observing that they were on the higher end, based on counsel’s experience and effective representation. The court also found $1,951.31 in travel expenses, filing fees, postage, and service costs reasonable.
Ruling
Judge Analisa Torres granted the parties’ motion for an order approving the settlement. The clerk was directed to close the case.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.