Hong v. New York Meat, Inc.
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:21-cv-08253
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hong v. New York Meat, Judge Broderick ordered the parties to submit their FLSA settlement for fairness review.
The parties to the FLSA case—JI WON HONG and New York Meat, Inc., along with the other defendants identified in the caption—were required to submit settlement information and, if applicable, attorney-fee records.
What happened
In Hong v. New York Meat, Inc., the parties told the court they had reached a settlement of claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The court ordered the parties to provide the settlement terms within 30 days, along with a joint letter of no more than five pages explaining why the agreement was a fair and reasonable compromise. If the agreement includes attorney’s fees, the parties must also provide records supporting the requested amount.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick did not approve the settlement in this order; he required more information so the court could review its fairness and reasonableness.
The detailed version
- Hong v. New York Meat, Inc. · No. 1:21-cv-08253
- Vernon Broderick
- Apr. 28, 2022
Background
The court was advised that the parties had reached a settlement in this Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) case. The opinion does not state the settlement amount, the specific disputed issues, or the settlement’s other terms.
Legal standard
The court explained that parties cannot privately settle FLSA claims with prejudice without approval from the district court or the Department of Labor. The court must determine whether the settlement is fair and reasonable by considering the total circumstances, including the plaintiff’s possible recovery, the burdens and expenses the settlement would avoid, the parties’ litigation risks, whether experienced counsel negotiated at arm’s length, and the possibility of fraud or collusion.
If a settlement includes attorney’s fees, the court must separately assess whether those fees are reasonable. The parties must provide a factual basis for any fee award, including contemporaneous billing records showing each attorney’s date of work, hours spent, and the nature of the work.
Order
The court ordered the parties to provide the settlement terms within 30 days. It also ordered them to submit a joint letter of no more than five pages explaining why the settlement reflects a fair and reasonable compromise of disputed issues, including information about the five listed factors. If the agreement includes attorney’s fees, the parties must submit supporting evidence for the fee award.
This order required information for the court’s review; it did not approve or reject the settlement in the text provided.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.