Garcia Espindola v. Pizza Stop Corp.
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:19-cv-01026
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Garcia Espindola v. Pizza Stop Corp., Judge Broderick ordered the parties to submit their settlement for fairness review under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The plaintiffs, Pizza Stop Corp., the other defendants, and their counsel were required to submit the settlement terms and a joint fairness explanation within 30 days; if attorney’s fees were included, counsel also had to provide supporting billing records.
What happened
In Garcia Espindola v. Pizza Stop Corp., the parties told the court they had reached a settlement in a Fair Labor Standards Act case. The opinion does not state the settlement’s terms or say that the court approved it.
The court ordered the parties to provide the settlement terms within 30 days. They must also submit a joint letter of no more than five pages explaining why the agreement is a fair and reasonable compromise, including information about five factors the court identified. If the agreement includes attorney’s fees, the parties must provide evidence supporting the amount, including billing records.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick required these submissions so the court could review the settlement under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The order did not decide the underlying wage claims or approve the settlement.
The detailed version
- Garcia Espindola v. Pizza Stop Corp. · No. 1:19-cv-01026
- Vernon Broderick
- Oct. 16, 2020
Background
The court stated that the parties had reached a settlement in this Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) case. Under the authorities cited by the court, parties generally may not privately settle FLSA claims with prejudice without approval from the district court or the Department of Labor. The court therefore had to determine whether the proposed settlement was fair and reasonable. The opinion does not provide the settlement amount or other terms.
Fairness Review
The court said it would consider the total circumstances, including:
- The plaintiffs’ possible recovery;
- The extent to which the settlement would help the parties avoid the burdens and expenses of proving their claims and defenses;
- The seriousness of the litigation risks;
- Whether experienced counsel reached the agreement through arms-length bargaining; and
- The possibility of fraud or collusion.
The court also stated that any attorney’s-fee provision must be evaluated separately. Counsel must provide a factual basis for the requested fees, including records showing, for each attorney, the date, hours worked, and nature of the work.
Order
The court ordered the parties to submit the settlement terms within 30 days of the order. Along with those terms, they must submit a joint letter of no more than five pages explaining why the settlement is a fair and reasonable compromise of disputed issues, including information about the five listed factors. If the agreement includes attorney’s fees, the parties must also submit supporting evidence and contemporaneous billing records.
The order required information for the court’s review; it did not approve or reject the settlement and did not decide the merits of the FLSA claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.