Gonzalez v. Gramercy Farmer & The Fish, LLC

Background

Marcos Miguel Gonzalez filed a complaint alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal wage-and-hour law, and related state-law claims. The caption states that he sued on behalf of himself, FLSA collective plaintiffs, and a class. The defendants named in the caption were Gramercy Farmer & The Fish, LLC; Hudson Fish, LLC doing business as Hudson Farmer & The Fish, LLC; Michael Kaphan; Edward Taylor; Suzie Kaphan; and Donna Taylor.

On December 29, 2020, Plaintiffs filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a). A dismissal without prejudice generally does not bar a later refiling, but the opinion did not state that the court had entered the dismissal.

Order

The court ordered Plaintiff to tell it by January 8, 2021, whether the parties had entered into a settlement agreement resolving the claims. The court stated that, if the parties had settled, it could not dismiss the action unless the settlement agreement had been approved by either the court or the Department of Labor. The order cited the Second Circuit's decision in Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc.

If there was no settlement, the court required Plaintiff's counsel to submit a sworn affidavit stating that the clients had agreed to dismiss the case without settlement and that counsel had informed them of their right to retain another attorney and refile the case.

Disposition and Effect

The court entered an order requiring additional information about the proposed dismissal; it did not itself dismiss the action, approve a settlement, or determine the merits of the FLSA or state-law claims. Judge Valerie Caproni signed the order on December 30, 2020. The opinion does not state whether the parties had settled or what happened after the January 8 deadline.