Animucka v. Singer
- Edgardo Ramos
- 1:20-cv-07867
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 6
In Animucka v. Singer, Judge Ramos approved the parties’ wage-settlement agreement, including attorneys’ fees, and closed the case.
Stanislawa Animucka, Rubin Singer, Alik Singer, and Animucka’s attorneys were affected by the approved settlement; the case was closed.
What happened
In Stanislawa Animucka v. Rubin Singer and Alik Singer, the plaintiff claimed that the defendants failed to pay required regular and overtime wages, paid wages late, and failed to provide required wage notices and statements under federal and New York law. The parties asked the court to approve their settlement.
The court approved a total settlement of $30,000. After $10,845 for attorneys’ fees and costs, Animucka will receive $19,155. The court found the agreement fair and reasonable because it reflected litigation risks, collection concerns, and arm’s-length negotiations, and because it covered the alleged unpaid wages and overtime wages and most related damages.
Judge Ramos also found the attorneys’ fees and the settlement’s other terms reasonable. He approved the agreement, directed the clerk to terminate the settlement motion, and closed the case.
The detailed version
- Animucka v. Singer · No. 1:20-cv-07867
- Edgardo Ramos
- Oct. 19, 2022
Background
Stanislawa Animucka sued Rubin Singer and Alik Singer under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law. She alleged that the defendants failed to pay all regular and overtime wages owed, routinely paid her at least one week late, and failed to provide required wage notices and wage statements.
The parties submitted a proposed settlement for court approval. The court explained that federal law in the Second Circuit requires district-court or Department of Labor approval before parties can privately settle Fair Labor Standards Act claims with prejudice. The court therefore evaluated whether the agreement was fair and reasonable.
Settlement Amount
The agreement provides a total recovery of $30,000. Animucka’s counsel will receive $10,845 for attorneys’ fees and costs, including $1,113 in costs, and Animucka will receive $19,155 after those deductions.
Animucka estimated that her maximum recovery at trial would be approximately $171,824, including liquidated damages. That estimate included $10,322 in unpaid wages and overtime, $10,322 in corresponding liquidated damages, $10,000 for wage-notice and paystub violations, and approximately $141,180 for allegedly unpaid weekly wages under New York Labor Law § 191. The settlement represented approximately 17.5% of that estimated maximum recovery.
The court nevertheless found the amount fair and reasonable. It considered the risks and delays of continued litigation, Animucka’s concerns about collecting a judgment, and the fact that the settlement covered all alleged unpaid wages and overtime wages, nearly all liquidated damages for those amounts, and all damages from the alleged wage-notice and paystub violations. The court also found that the agreement resulted from arm’s-length negotiations over multiple weeks while both sides were represented by experienced labor and employment attorneys.
Attorneys’ Fees and Costs
The court approved the requested $10,845 in fees and costs, which was approximately one-third of the settlement. It reviewed billing records for Robert Wisniewski, billed at $450 per hour, and Barbara Luberadzka, billed at $125 per hour. The court found both hourly rates reasonable based on their stated experience.
The court also used a lodestar calculation as a cross-check. A lodestar is the reasonable hourly rate multiplied by the reasonable number of hours worked. Wisniewski’s 26.1 hours produced a lodestar of $11,745, and Luberadzka’s 54.5 hours produced a lodestar of $6,812.50, for a total lodestar of $18,557.50. Comparing the requested fee, after subtracting costs, with that total produced a multiplier of approximately 1.98. The court accepted that multiplier and found the fees and costs reasonable.
Other Settlement Terms and Disposition
The court found the remaining provisions fair and reasonable. The agreement did not contain confidentiality or non-defamation provisions. Its release was limited to claims related to Animucka’s allegations, including claims involving unpaid wages, record-keeping violations, and wage notices and statements. The agreement also contained a mutual non-disparagement clause, but the clause allowed truthful statements about the facts underlying Animucka’s claims and the parties’ litigation experience.
Judge Edgardo Ramos granted the motion for settlement approval. The clerk was directed to terminate the motion, and the case was closed.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.