Ramos v. BDJVegan1, Inc.
- Sarah Cave
- 1:16-cv-08776
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Ramos v. BDJVEGAN1, Inc., Judge Cave ordered FLSA settlement materials and adjourned the trial without deciding whether the settlement was fair.
The plaintiffs and defendants in the case, who were required to submit joint materials about their proposed settlement and whose trial schedule was adjourned.
What happened
In Ramos v. BDJVEGAN1, Inc., the parties told the court that they had reached a settlement in principle. The case includes claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal wage law.
The court required the parties to file a joint request addressing whether the settlement is fair and reasonable. They also had to provide information about the claims, defenses, potential damages, negotiations, lawyers’ fees, and the settlement agreement itself.
Judge Sarah L. Cave ordered the materials to be filed by July 14, 2021. She also adjourned the July 21, 2021 bench trial and the related pretrial-materials deadline without setting a new date; the order did not approve or reject the settlement.
The detailed version
- Ramos v. BDJVegan1, Inc. · No. 1:16-cv-08776
- Sarah Cave
- June 14, 2021
Background
The parties consented to a United States magistrate judge handling the case for all purposes. On June 14, 2021, they advised the court that they had reached a settlement in principle. The case includes one or more claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal law governing certain wage and hour rights.
Order
Because FLSA settlements require court review under the authority cited by the court, Judge Sarah L. Cave ordered the parties to file a joint letter-motion by July 14, 2021. The filing had to address whether the settlement was fair and reasonable, including the claims and defenses, the defendants’ potential monetary exposure and the calculations supporting it, the strengths and weaknesses of both sides’ positions, any explanation for a difference between the potential value of the claims and the settlement amount, and the litigation and negotiation process.
The parties also had to explain their attorneys’ fee arrangement, provide any retainer agreement, document the attorneys’ fees and costs actually incurred, and attach the settlement agreement. The court did not approve or reject the settlement in this order.
Trial Schedule and Disposition
The bench trial scheduled to begin on July 21, 2021, and the related deadline for submitting pretrial materials, were adjourned without a new date being set. This was an order requiring settlement materials and changing the schedule; it did not decide the underlying FLSA claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.