Ramirez v. Naya Mezze & Grill, LLC

Background

The case involves claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal law governing certain wage and hour practices. The court stated that the case had been assigned to it for all purposes and that FLSA cases often benefit from early mediation.

Settlement and Early Discovery

By a separate order, the court referred the case to the assigned magistrate judge for settlement purposes. Unless the court orders otherwise, no later than one week after an answer is filed, the parties must contact the magistrate judge's chambers to schedule a settlement conference. The conference must take place at least two weeks before the initial pretrial conference.

To support settlement discussions, the parties must exchange limited discovery no later than three weeks after an answer is filed. They must confer about the scope of that discovery and promptly bring disputes to the magistrate judge under that judge's rules. The order identifies typical materials, including documents about the plaintiff's duties, wage and hour records, the plaintiff's calculation of alleged underpayments and other damages, defendants' compensation-policy documents, and, if defendants claim they cannot pay, records showing their financial condition.

If the parties believe early mediation is inappropriate, including because they want to defer settlement discussions until after collective-action or class-action motion practice, they may file a letter motion seeking relief by the answer deadline. They may also seek an extension or adjournment if additional time is needed for settlement or if the magistrate judge is unavailable.

FLSA Settlements

The court reminded the parties that FLSA settlements generally must be filed publicly and reviewed by the court for fairness. If they settle, the parties may submit the agreement with a joint letter explaining why it is fair and reasonable. Alternatively, they may consent to proceed before the assigned magistrate judge for all purposes, in which case that judge would decide whether to approve the settlement.

Initial Pretrial Conference and Filings

The court ordered counsel for all parties to appear for an initial pretrial conference on September 1, 2021, at 4:15 p.m. in Courtroom 1105 of the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse. Counsel had to register as electronic-filing users, review the court's electronic-filing rules and individual practices, and attend through the attorney who would serve as principal trial counsel unless the court granted permission otherwise.

Before the conference, the parties had to confer about the subjects covered by a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16 conference. They also had to file a joint letter, with a proposed civil case management plan and scheduling order attached, no later than Thursday of the week before the conference. The joint letter could not exceed five pages and had to address the nature of the action and defenses, jurisdiction and venue, deadlines, pending motions, any intended motion for preliminary collective-action certification, completed and needed discovery, prior settlement discussions, possible alternative dispute-resolution methods, and other information useful in moving the case toward settlement or trial.

The order also required extension or adjournment requests to be made by letter motion filed on the court's electronic filing system at least 48 hours before the relevant deadline or conference. Counsel who had appeared by the date of the order had to promptly serve the order and the court's individual practices on parties or counsel who had not appeared and file proof of that notice.

Ruling and Effect

Judge Jesse M. Furman entered the case-management and settlement directives described above. The opinion did not rule on the merits of the FLSA claims or state that any motion was granted or denied.