Villanueva Galiano v. 420 East 59th Rest. LLC

Background

The parties informed the court that they had reached a settlement in principle. Plaintiff Oscar Armando Villanueva Galiano brought the case under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal law governing certain wage and hour issues. The opinion does not state the settlement’s terms or the amount requested for attorney’s fees.

Court’s analysis

The court explained that, under then-current Second Circuit law, it had to review the settlement—including any proposed attorney’s fee award—to determine whether it was fair. The court directed the parties to address the fairness and reasonableness of the proposed settlement using the factors identified in Wolinsky v. Scholastic, Inc. It also directed them to address any confidentiality, non-disparagement, or release provisions.

For attorney’s fees, the court stated that merely identifying the requested fee as a proportion of the total settlement was insufficient. The parties needed adequate supporting documentation, which would normally include contemporaneous time records listing, for each attorney, the date, hours worked, and nature of the work. The court warned that inadequate documentation could result in rejection of the proposed fee award.

Order and effect

The court ordered the parties to appear by telephone for a settlement-approval hearing on March 25, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. Plaintiff was required to attend and could appear with an interpreter if necessary. The court did not approve or reject the settlement in this order. It canceled all other conferences and deadlines and directed the clerk to close Docket No. 15.