Pena v. NB Network Solutions Inc.
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:19-cv-01681
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Pena v. NB Network Solutions Inc., Judge Abrams ordered FLSA parties to address settlement approval, voluntary dismissal, or magistrate-judge consent.
The plaintiffs, NB Network Solutions Inc., the other defendants, and the parties’ potential settlement process were affected by the court’s instructions.
What happened
In Pena v. NB Network Solutions Inc., the parties reported that they had reached an agreement on all issues in this Fair Labor Standards Act case.
The court ordered the parties to take one of three steps by March 11, 2020: submit materials asking the court to approve a fair and reasonable settlement, submit a notice or stipulation voluntarily dismissing the case without prejudice, or consent to having future proceedings handled by Magistrate Judge Freeman.
Judge Ronnie Abrams did not approve the settlement in this order. The order also warned that materials used to decide whether the settlement was fair could be placed on the public docket.
The detailed version
- Pena v. NB Network Solutions Inc. · No. 1:19-cv-01681
- Ronnie Abrams
- Jan. 29, 2020
Background
The plaintiffs brought this Fair Labor Standards Act case individually and on behalf of others similarly situated against NB Network Solutions Inc. and other defendants. The court was informed that the parties had reached an agreement resolving all issues.
Court’s directives
The court gave the parties until March 11, 2020, to take one of three actions:
- Submit a joint letter explaining why the settlement was fair and reasonable, along with supporting materials, so the court could consider approving it. The court advised that materials on which it relied in making that fairness decision could be filed publicly because judicial documents are generally presumed to be accessible to the public.
- Submit a stipulation or notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
- The court noted that the parties could not stipulate to dismissal with prejudice without the court’s approval of the settlement.
- Consent to having all further proceedings conducted before Magistrate Judge Freeman by completing the required consent form. The court stated that choosing not to proceed before Judge Freeman would not have adverse substantive consequences.
Disposition
Judge Ronnie Abrams issued an order directing the parties to choose one of these courses of action. This order did not itself approve the settlement, dismiss the case, or decide the underlying Fair Labor Standards Act claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.