Illescas v. Four Green Fields LLC
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:20-cv-09426
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Illescas v. Four Green Fields LLC, Judge Abrams directed the parties to choose how to proceed after reporting a settlement of all Fair Labor Standards Act issues.
Jose Illescas, the people he seeks to represent, Four Green Fields LLC doing business as Agave Restaurant, and Jack Sobel.
What happened
In Illescas v. Four Green Fields LLC, Jose Illescas sued Four Green Fields LLC, doing business as Agave Restaurant, and Jack Sobel under the Fair Labor Standards Act on behalf of himself and others similarly situated. The court was told that the parties had settled all issues.
The order required the parties, by April 1, 2021, to choose among three options: consent to further proceedings before Magistrate Judge Gorenstein, file a voluntary dismissal without prejudice, or ask the court to approve the settlement by explaining why it is fair and reasonable and providing supporting materials, including billing records for attorney fees and costs.
Judge Ronnie Abrams also warned that materials used to decide whether the settlement is fair could be placed on the public docket. She stated that the court would not approve agreements broadly waiving unrelated claims or barring plaintiffs from making negative statements about defendants without an exception for truthful statements about their litigation experience. The order did not approve the settlement or dismiss the case.
The detailed version
- Illescas v. Four Green Fields LLC · No. 1:20-cv-09426
- Ronnie Abrams
- Mar. 1, 2021
Background
Jose Illescas brought this Fair Labor Standards Act case on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated against Four Green Fields LLC, doing business as Agave Restaurant, and Jack Sobel. The opinion states that the parties reported reaching a settlement on all issues. It does not describe the underlying wage-and-hour allegations or the settlement's financial terms.
Order
The court gave the parties until April 1, 2021, to take one of three actions:
- Consent to conducting all further proceedings before Magistrate Judge Gorenstein by completing the required consent form. The order states that choosing not to proceed before Judge Gorenstein would not lead to adverse substantive consequences.
- Submit a stipulation or notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
- 3. Submit a joint letter explaining why the settlement is fair and reasonable and should be approved, along with supporting materials, including contemporaneous billing records for attorney fees and costs provided for in the settlement.
Settlement-review guidance
The court advised that materials on which it relies in deciding whether the settlement is fair will be placed on the public docket because judicial documents generally carry a presumption of public access. The court also stated that it would not approve settlement terms that broadly waive practically any possible claim against the defendants, including unrelated or unknown claims. It further stated that it would not approve terms barring plaintiffs from making negative statements about the defendants unless the agreement contains an exception for truthful statements about the plaintiffs' experience litigating the case.
Disposition
Judge Ronnie Abrams entered an order directing the parties to select one of the three listed procedures. The order did not itself approve the settlement, enter a dismissal, or decide the underlying Fair Labor Standards Act claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.