Jordan v. Krasdale Foods, Inc.
- Edgardo Ramos
- 1:18-cv-11477
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Jordan v. Krasdale Foods, Judge Ramos approved a revised wage settlement and dismissed the case with prejudice.
Jeffrey Jordan, the other people identified in the caption as similarly situated, and Krasdale Foods, Inc. were affected by the settlement approval and dismissal. The opinion does not state the settlement amount or other payment terms.
What happened
Jordan v. Krasdale Foods, Inc. involved Jeffrey Jordan’s proposed settlement with Krasdale Foods, Inc. The court had previously declined to approve an earlier agreement without prejudice because of concerns about attorney fees, tax treatment, and whether another agreement excluded Jordan’s wage claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The parties submitted a revised motion and settlement agreement. They provided records supporting a lodestar calculation of $30,362.50, which the court found supported counsel’s $31,501.39 fee. The revised agreement also provided that the entire award would be reported on an Internal Revenue Service Form W-2, and the court confirmed that the second agreement properly excluded Jordan’s Fair Labor Standards Act claims.
Judge Ramos found that the revised agreement complied with the required settlement-review standard and approved it. The court dismissed the case with prejudice, directed the clerk to terminate the motion, and directed the clerk to terminate the case.
The detailed version
- Jordan v. Krasdale Foods, Inc. · No. 1:18-cv-11477
- Edgardo Ramos
- Feb. 24, 2020
Background
On November 15, 2019, the parties asked the court to approve a preliminary settlement. On January 13, 2020, the court declined to approve that agreement without prejudice. The court identified three problems: the parties had not provided documentation supporting plaintiffs’ counsel’s attorney-fee calculation; the agreement used an inappropriate tax allocation for Jordan’s award; and the court could not determine whether a referenced second agreement properly excluded Jordan’s claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Revised Settlement
The parties responded with an amended motion and a revised settlement agreement. They submitted records supporting a lodestar calculation of $30,362.50. A lodestar is a fee calculation based generally on reasonable hours multiplied by reasonable hourly rates. The court found that this calculation adequately supported plaintiffs’ counsel’s requested fee of $31,501.39.
The revised agreement provided that the entire award would be reported on an Internal Revenue Service Form W-2. The court also reviewed the second agreement and confirmed that it properly exempted Jordan’s Fair Labor Standards Act claims. The court stated that separate agreements concerning non-Fair Labor Standards Act claims generally would not be subject to court approval when their terms addressed only those non-Fair Labor Standards Act claims.
Ruling
The court found that the revised settlement agreement complied with the settlement-review requirements recognized in Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc. and approved the agreement. The court dismissed the case with prejudice. It directed the clerk to terminate the motion at docket entry 24 and to terminate the case.
Effect of the Order
The order approved the revised settlement and ended the case. The opinion does not state the settlement amount payable to Jordan or the terms of any payments to other persons.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.