Passante v. Luzzo's 211, LLC

Background

The court stated that the parties had reached a settlement involving claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The order did not describe the underlying claims or settlement terms. It directed the parties to follow one of two procedures depending on whether they wanted to dismiss the FLSA claims permanently or without permanently barring them.

Permanent dismissal procedure

The court relied on the Second Circuit’s decision in Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc., which held that FLSA claims cannot be dismissed with prejudice—that is, permanently—through the ordinary voluntary-dismissal procedure in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A). The parties instead had to seek court approval under Rule 41(a)(2).

First, the parties were ordered to discuss whether they would consent to having all further proceedings conducted by the assigned magistrate judge under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). If both consented, they had two weeks from the order’s date to file a completed consent and reference form. If either party did not consent, the parties had to file a joint letter within two weeks stating that they did not consent, without identifying the party or parties who withheld consent. The order stated that withholding consent would not have negative consequences.

If the parties did not consent to proceed before the magistrate judge, they had three weeks from the order’s date to file a joint motion explaining why the settlement was fair and should be approved. The motion had to address the factors identified in Wolinsky v. Scholastic Inc. and include the settlement agreement as an exhibit. The court stated that it would not approve agreements containing confidentiality provisions and would not allow settlement-related documents to be filed under seal without a particularized showing overcoming the presumption of public access to judicial documents.

If the settlement included attorney’s fees, the parties also had to address whether the fees were reasonable under the framework in Goldberger v. Integrated Resources, Inc. Plaintiffs’ attorneys had to attach detailed time records for the court’s review.

Dismissal without prejudice

The court noted that Cheeks had reserved the question of voluntary dismissal of FLSA claims without prejudice. The court stated that it would accept a stipulation under Rule 41(a)(1)(A) if the stipulation dismissed the FLSA claims without prejudice, meaning the dismissal would not permanently bar refiling those claims. The parties had two weeks from the order’s date to submit such a stipulation if they chose that option.

Disposition

The court issued directions and deadlines for handling the parties’ proposed settlement and possible dismissal. It did not approve the settlement, dismiss the claims, or decide the underlying FLSA dispute in this order. The order was entered by Judge Gregory H. Woods on November 25, 2020.