Aquino Flores v. CGI Inc.

Background

Fernando Aquino Flores and Ricardo Isidro Reyes brought the action as named plaintiffs, FLSA collective plaintiffs, and representatives of a proposed class. The defendants were CGI Inc., doing business as Bus Stop Diner; Three A Plus Inc., doing business as Malibu Diner; Alexandros Grimpas; Jose Collado; and Alexandros Iliadis.

After a private mediation, the parties negotiated a settlement. The settlement was initially contemplated at $375,000 for 200 individuals, but the amount increased to $435,000 when the class size reached 232 individuals. The court had previously granted preliminary approval, conditionally certified the settlement class and FLSA collective, appointed class counsel and a settlement administrator, and authorized notice.

The plaintiffs then filed unopposed motions for final approval of the class settlement and approval of the FLSA settlement, attorneys’ fees and expenses, and service awards. The court held a fairness hearing on October 20, 2022. No class member objected at the hearing, and the defendants did not oppose the motions.

Rulings

The court granted the motion for final approval and finally approved the settlement under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. It confirmed the settlement class, approved the FLSA collective settlement under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), confirmed Flores and Reyes as class representatives, and confirmed C.K. Lee of Lee Litigation Group PLLC as class counsel. The court also found that the required notices were adequate, that the Class Action Fairness Act notice requirements had been satisfied, and that the settlement was procedurally and substantively fair, reasonable, and adequate.

The court approved the plan for allocating settlement payments to class members who did not timely opt out. It granted the motion for attorneys’ fees and awarded class counsel $145,000, described as one-third of the settlement fund, plus $6,579.70 in costs and expenses. It approved total service awards of $15,000—$10,000 to Flores and $5,000 to Reyes—and approved $25,000 in fees for Advanced Litigation Strategies, LLC as settlement administrator.

Disposition

The court ordered that the settlement’s releases and waivers would be binding under the settlement terms. It dismissed the action with prejudice, while retaining jurisdiction to enforce the Settlement Agreement and oversee distribution of the settlement funds. The order stated that the settlement did not establish that any party prevailed or that the defendants engaged in wrongdoing.