Radosti v. Hudson's Bay Company
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:18-cv-12266
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
In Radosti v. Hudson’s Bay Company, Judge Broderick approved the revised wage-settlement agreement and $20,000 attorney-fee award.
Bina Radosti and the defendants in the wage-and-hour case, including Hudson’s Bay Company, were affected. The approved settlement resolved the case, canceled the scheduled trial, and closed the matter.
What happened
In Radosti v. Hudson’s Bay Company, Bina Radosti and the defendants submitted a revised settlement after the court rejected their first proposal because its release was too broad and the fee request lacked supporting records.
The revised agreement provided $60,000 total, including $1,000 for unpaid wages, $1,000 in liquidated damages, $38,000 for alleged retaliation damages, and $20,000 in attorney fees. The court found the amount, release, and fees fair and reasonable.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick approved the settlement, canceled the scheduled trial, ended outstanding deadlines, directed that open motions be terminated, and closed the case.
The detailed version
- Radosti v. Hudson's Bay Company · No. 1:18-cv-12266
- Vernon Broderick
- June 24, 2022
Background
On June 8, 2022, the court denied the parties’ proposed settlement without prejudice because the release was overbroad and Bina Radosti had not provided evidence supporting the requested attorney fees. The court gave the parties the choice of submitting a corrected settlement or abandoning settlement and proceeding to the scheduled jury trial.
The parties submitted a revised agreement. It provided for a total payment of $60,000, including fees, expenses, and costs. The agreement allocated $1,000 to unpaid wages, $1,000 to liquidated damages, $38,000 to alleged retaliation damages, and $20,000 to attorney fees. Radosti estimated that her potential lost-wage recovery could be between $150,000 and $200,000, plus possible emotional-distress damages, but agreed that the settlement was fair and reasonable. The court also considered the risks and costs of continued litigation, the parties’ arm’s-length negotiations, and the absence of any apparent fraud or collusion.
Release
The revised release was limited to wage-and-hour claims related to this action and to Radosti’s employment during the period identified in the agreement. It covered claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, New York Labor Law, and related wage laws, including claims for unpaid wages, overtime, wage statements, notices, interest, liquidated damages, penalties, attorney fees, and costs. The court found that the revised release was limited to the claims at issue and was fair and reasonable.
Attorney Fees
Radosti’s counsel submitted billing records after the first fee request lacked support. Counsel allocated 129.7 of 713 total hours, or about 18 percent, to the Fair Labor Standards Act claims. Counsel similarly allocated about 18 percent of a $63,595 lodestar, which is a fee calculation based on reasonable hours multiplied by reasonable hourly rates. The court found that the $20,000 fee was about one-third of the settlement and was reasonable under both the percentage-of-recovery and lodestar methods.
Ruling
Judge Vernon S. Broderick approved the parties’ settlement agreement and attorney-fee award as fair and reasonable. The court canceled the June 29, 2022 jury trial, terminated outstanding deadlines, directed the Clerk of Court to terminate open motions, and closed the case.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.