Rivera v. Midtown Catch Corp.
- Sarah Cave
- 1:19-cv-02574
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Rivera v. Midtown Catch Corp., Judge Cave ordered the parties to submit materials so the court can evaluate their Fair Labor Standards Act settlement.
Enoc Rivera a/k/a Moses and defendants Midtown Catch Corp., Michael Cioffi, and Joseph Polizzi, who were required to file joint settlement-review materials.
What happened
In Rivera v. Midtown Catch Corp., the case includes one or more claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The court required the parties to jointly explain whether their proposed settlement is fair and reasonable.
The parties must file a joint letter-motion by August 10, 2020. The submission must address the claims and defenses, potential damages, the strengths and weaknesses of the case, the settlement negotiations, attorney fees, the retainer agreement, actual fees spent, and the settlement agreement itself.
Judge Sarah L. Cave issued the order on July 27, 2020. The order directs the parties to provide information for review; it does not itself approve or reject the settlement.
The detailed version
- Rivera v. Midtown Catch Corp. · No. 1:19-cv-02574
- Sarah Cave
- July 27, 2020
Background
The case includes one or more claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The opinion states that the parties have reached a settlement and cites a Second Circuit decision requiring court review of Fair Labor Standards Act settlements.
Order
The court ordered the parties to file a joint letter-motion by Monday, August 10, 2020. The letter-motion must discuss whether the settlement is fair and reasonable, including:
- the claims and defenses; - the defendants’ potential monetary exposure and the basis for calculating it; - the strengths and weaknesses of the plaintiff’s case and the defendants’ defenses; - any reasons for a difference between the potential value of the plaintiff’s claims and the settlement amount; - the litigation and negotiation process; and - other relevant issues, such as whether a judgment would be collectible if the case went to trial.
The parties must also explain the attorney-fee arrangement, attach the retainer agreement, provide information about actual attorney fees spent, and attach the settlement agreement.
Effect of the Order
The court did not approve or reject the settlement in this order. It required the parties to submit materials for the court’s review. Sarah L. Cave, United States Magistrate Judge, issued the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.