Vargas v. Howard
- Debra Freeman
- 1:15-cv-05101
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Vargas v. Howard, Judge Freeman approved Marvin Esquivel’s separate wage settlement and discontinued his claims with prejudice.
Marvin Esquivel’s FLSA and NYLL claims were resolved by a separate settlement, discontinued with prejudice, and removed from the case; the remaining plaintiffs’ claims were addressed by a separately approved class settlement, and the case was closed.
What happened
In Vargas v. Howard, Marvin Esquivel had joined claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law, but the parties determined that he was not part of the certified class and had different work circumstances.
His lawyers and the other parties separately negotiated a settlement resolving his claims and asked the court to approve it. The court reviewed the agreement and the parties’ explanation of why it was fair.
Judge Freeman found the settlement fair, reasonable, and adequate, approved it, and retained jurisdiction to enforce it. The court then discontinued Esquivel’s claims with prejudice and without costs or fees to any party, and directed the Clerk to close the case because the remaining claims had also been resolved through a separately approved class settlement.
The detailed version
- Vargas v. Howard · No. 1:15-cv-05101
- Debra Freeman
- Oct. 14, 2020
Background
The action asserted claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law (NYLL). The parties had negotiated a class-action settlement, which the court approved by a separate order. They determined that FLSA opt-in plaintiff Marvin Esquivel was not a member of the certified class and that his duties and circumstances differed from those of other class members.
Because the class settlement did not cover Esquivel’s claims, counsel separately negotiated an agreement resolving his FLSA and NYLL claims. The parties submitted that agreement and a letter explaining why they believed it was fair, reasonable, and adequate. The court reviewed the proposed agreement under the required judicial fairness review for FLSA settlements.
Rulings
The court found that the settlement terms were fair, reasonable, and adequate to address Esquivel’s claims and compensate his counsel for legal fees. It therefore approved the agreement.
The agreement contemplated that the court would retain jurisdiction to enforce it. The court retained jurisdiction for that purpose.
As a result of approving the executed settlement agreement, the court ordered that Esquivel’s claims be discontinued with prejudice and without costs or fees to any party. Because the court had separately approved the class settlement resolving the remaining plaintiffs’ claims, it directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.