Guerra v. J.A.E.-L.A.R. Restaurant Corp
- Katharine Parker
- 1:19-cv-04144
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Guerra v. J.A.E. Restaurant Corp.: Judge Parker approved the parties’ settlement and discontinued the action with prejudice and without costs.
The settlement and dismissal affected Ignacio Guerra, the defendants J.A.E. Restaurant Corp. d/b/a Caridad Restaurant, Amaury Espinal, Amin Espinal, and Laura Rodriguez, and the plaintiff’s counsel. The order also concerned the claims asserted on behalf of others similarly situated.
What happened
In Guerra v. J.A.E. Restaurant Corp., Ignacio Guerra brought claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law on behalf of himself and others similarly situated. The parties reached an agreement in principle and asked the court to approve their proposed settlement.
The court reviewed the proposed agreement and the plaintiff’s explanation of why it was fair, reasonable, and adequate. It approved the settlement, including the payment of the plaintiff’s lawyers’ fees.
Judge Katharine H. Parker retained jurisdiction to enforce the settlement if necessary. She discontinued the action with prejudice and without costs, while allowing the plaintiff to ask that the case be restored within 30 days if the written settlement documents were not completed; the clerk was directed to close the case.
The detailed version
- Guerra v. J.A.E.-L.A.R. Restaurant Corp · No. 1:19-cv-04144
- Katharine Parker
- Aug. 18, 2020
Background
Ignacio Guerra brought this action under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law on behalf of himself and others similarly situated. The case was before Judge Katharine H. Parker with the parties’ consent under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). The parties reached an agreement in principle to resolve the action and submitted a proposed settlement for court approval.
Settlement review
The court reviewed the plaintiff’s submission explaining why the settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate, along with the settlement’s terms. The court applied the required fairness review for Fair Labor Standards Act settlements and found that the agreement was fair, reasonable, and adequate both to address the plaintiff’s claims and to compensate the plaintiff’s counsel for legal fees. The court therefore approved the proposed settlement.
Disposition
The court retained jurisdiction to enforce the settlement agreement if necessary. Because the settlement was approved, the action was discontinued with prejudice and without costs. The order provided that, within 30 days of its date, the plaintiff could apply by letter to restore the action to the active calendar if any part of the written settlement documentation was not completed. The clerk was directed to close the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.