Cardoso v. Studio 34 Hair Salon, Inc.

Background

Marcela Cardoso brought this action on behalf of herself and others similarly situated against Studio 34 Hair Salon, Inc., Studio 34 Salon Inc., Garik Rakhamimov, and Nasiba Azizbekova. The parties submitted a joint request for approval of a fully executed settlement agreement under the standard requiring court review of certain wage-and-hour settlements.

Settlement Terms

The defendants agreed to pay $11,000 to settle the action. Of that amount, $7,333.70 would go to Cardoso in full settlement of her claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. The remaining $3,666.30 would go to Cardoso’s attorneys as fees. Counsel did not separately request reimbursement of expenses. The fee award equaled one-third of the gross settlement and was lower than counsel’s lodestar, meaning the fee calculated from the attorneys’ recorded work and hourly rates.

The settlement required one lump-sum payment within thirty days after court approval, subject to defendants’ counsel receiving specified tax forms and confirmation that the action had been discontinued or dismissed. Cardoso granted a limited release covering claims solely concerning wage-and-hour matters. The release excluded non-wage-and-hour claims and claims arising after the agreement was signed. The agreement contained no confidentiality provision or other restriction on the parties’ ability to discuss the case or settlement.

Ruling

Judge Barbara Moses found the settlement terms, including the attorneys’ fee award, fair and reasonable and approved the settlement. The court ordered that the action be dismissed with prejudice and without costs and directed the clerk to close the case.