Mejia v. Connies Deli Food Inc.
- Barbara Moses
- 1:21-cv-08182
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Mejia v. Connie's Deli Food, Judge Moses approved a $12,000 wage settlement and dismissed the case with prejudice.
Iris Janeth Mejia, the defendants, and plaintiff's counsel. The order approved payment of $12,000 to resolve Mejia's Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law claims, including $8,000 for Mejia and $4,000 for attorneys' fees and expenses.
What happened
In Mejia v. Connie's Deli Food Inc., Iris Janeth Mejia and the defendants asked the court to approve a settlement of her federal and state wage claims. The agreement required the defendants to pay $12,000 in 11 installments.
Mejia would receive $8,000, while her lawyers would receive $4,000 for fees and expenses. The court found the settlement reasonable because the parties disputed the hours worked, the defendants had records challenging Mejia's claims, and collecting a larger judgment could have been difficult.
Judge Moses approved the settlement, granted the parties' joint letter-motion, dismissed the action with prejudice and without costs, and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.
The detailed version
- Mejia v. Connies Deli Food Inc. · No. 1:21-cv-08182
- Barbara Moses
- May 17, 2022
Background
Iris Janeth Mejia sued Connie's Deli Food Inc. and other defendants individually and on behalf of similarly situated people, asserting claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. The parties jointly asked the court to approve their fully executed settlement agreement under the requirement that certain wage-and-hour settlements receive judicial review.
Settlement Terms
The defendants agreed to pay $12,000 collectively in 11 installments. Of that amount, $8,000 would go to Mejia and $4,000 would go to her counsel for attorneys' fees and expenses. Each installment would be divided between Mejia and counsel in a one-third/two-thirds ratio, and the payments would be secured by confessions of judgment signed by both defendants.
The agreement included a limited release covering wage-and-hour allegations arising during the period involved in the case. It did not prohibit rehiring, require confidentiality, or otherwise restrict Mejia from discussing her employment, the case, or the settlement terms.
Court's Analysis
The court found the financial terms fair and reasonable even though the settlement was below Mejia's estimated maximum recovery of as much as $55,833.27. The parties sharply disputed the number of hours Mejia worked, and the defendants had produced employment records contradicting her claims. The court also considered Mejia's acknowledgment that the defendants' small business had been affected by COVID and that collecting a larger judgment could have been difficult.
The court found the proposed $4,000 fee award reasonable because it was one-third of the gross settlement, below counsel's stated $5,640 value of the time spent on the case, and consistent with the result obtained. The court also found the non-financial terms fair.
Ruling
The court found the settlement fair and reasonable. Judge Barbara Moses granted the parties' joint letter-motion and approved the proposed settlement. The action was dismissed with prejudice and without costs, and the Clerk of Court was directed to close the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.