Uraga v. Amici 519 LLC
- Andrew Carter
- 1:17-cv-03547
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Uraga v. Amici 519 LLC, Judge Carter granted preliminary approval of settlement agreements and conditionally certified a settlement class.
The order affected Pedro Uraga, the proposed Fair Labor Standards Act collective and class members, and the named defendants. It also appointed C.K. Lee as class counsel and addressed the possible use of Arden Claims Service as claims administrator.
What happened
In Uraga v. Amici 519 LLC, Pedro Uraga alleged that the defendants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law. The parties submitted revised settlement agreements after the court rejected earlier versions because their releases were too broad.
The court found that the revised releases were not overly broad and that the proposed settlements appeared suitable for approval. It granted preliminary approval, conditionally certified the proposed class for settlement purposes, approved the proposed notice, and directed that notice be distributed.
Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. scheduled a final fairness hearing for April 15, 2020, appointed C.K. Lee as class counsel, and stated that the court had no objection to Arden Claims Service serving as claims administrator.
The detailed version
- Uraga v. Amici 519 LLC · No. 1:17-cv-03547
- Andrew Carter
- Jan. 2, 2020
Background
Pedro Uraga sued Amici 519 LLC, Essen22 LLC, 100 Broad Street LLC, BNP NY Foods, Inc., Ten Westside Corp., John Byun, and Chong Won Byun. He alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law on behalf of himself, collective plaintiffs under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and a proposed class.
The parties previously filed unopposed motions seeking preliminary approval of class settlements. On November 22, 2019, the court denied those motions without prejudice because the proposed agreements contained releases that were too broad and affected the named plaintiff. On December 18, 2019, the parties filed addenda revising the settlement agreements.
Court’s Analysis
The addenda removed the earlier broad releases and replaced them with releases covering claims for unpaid wages and discrimination, including specified claims under New York State and New York City law, based on conduct occurring through the date the named plaintiff signed the agreement. The court found that these new release provisions were not overly broad.
After reviewing the rest of the proposed agreements, the court found that the settlements appeared to fall within the possible range for approval. The court determined that there was probable cause to submit the settlements to class members and hold a full hearing on their fairness.
Rulings and Next Steps
Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. granted preliminary approval of the proposed settlement agreements. For settlement purposes only, the court conditionally certified the proposed class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and Section 216(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The court found that the proposed class notice met Rule 23's requirements and directed the plaintiff to distribute the notice and related materials described in the parties' filings. It scheduled a final fairness hearing for April 15, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. The court appointed C.K. Lee of Lee Litigation Group as class counsel and stated that it had no objection to class counsel retaining Arden Claims Service as claims administrator.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.