Manjarrez v. Bayard's Ale House
- Ona Wang
- 1:21-cv-01968
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
Manjarrez v. Bayard’s Ale House: Magistrate Judge Wang approved the $40,000 wage settlement and dismissed the action with prejudice.
Jose Manjarrez will receive $26,162 from the approved settlement. His counsel will receive $13,838, including $13,081 in attorney’s fees and $757 in costs. The defendants are bound by the approved settlement, and the action is dismissed with prejudice.
What happened
In Manjarrez v. Bayard’s Ale House LLC, et al., Jose Manjarrez alleged that the defendants failed to pay overtime wages and provide a proper wage notice under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law. The parties reached a settlement after mediation.
The settlement provided $40,000 total: $26,162 for Manjarrez and $13,838 for his lawyer’s fees and costs. The court found the agreement fair and reasonable, noting the risks and expense of continued litigation, the parties’ negotiations, and the lack of evidence of fraud or collusion.
Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang approved the settlement, including $13,081 in attorney’s fees and $757 in costs, and ordered that the action be dismissed with prejudice. The clerk was directed to close the case.
The detailed version
- Manjarrez v. Bayard's Ale House · No. 1:21-cv-01968
- Ona Wang
- Dec. 1, 2022
Background
Jose Manjarrez sued Bayard’s Ale House LLC, 218 East 52nd Street Restaurant LLC, and Niall Moran under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal wage-and-hour law, and New York Labor Law (NYLL). He alleged that the defendants failed to pay overtime wages and failed to provide a wage notice stating the actual regular and overtime hours he worked. Manjarrez stated that he worked for a defendant from 2016 through 2020 as a busboy, kitchen worker, food runner, and waiter.
After meeting with a court-appointed mediator, the parties reached a settlement in February 2022. They asked the court to approve the agreement because settlements of FLSA claims that dismiss the case with prejudice require court or Department of Labor approval in this circuit.
Settlement Terms
Manjarrez calculated his total overtime damages at $30,694. The proposed settlement totaled $40,000. Manjarrez would receive $26,162, which the court described as approximately 85% of his best-case overtime recovery. His counsel would receive $13,838, consisting of $13,081 in attorney’s fees and $757 in costs.
The agreement limited the release to claims based on Manjarrez’s employment through the date the agreement was signed and did not extend beyond wage-and-hour issues. It contained no confidentiality or non-disparagement provision.
Court’s Analysis
The court applied factors addressing the possible recovery, the burdens and expenses of litigation, litigation risks, whether the agreement resulted from arm’s-length negotiations between experienced counsel, and the possibility of fraud or collusion. The court found significant disputes and risks in the case, including Manjarrez’s acknowledgment that the defendants might not be able to afford a substantial trial award and that he might receive nothing if litigation continued.
The parties represented that they engaged in extensive negotiations, and the record contained no evidence of fraud or collusion. The court also found the release appropriately limited and determined that the attorney’s-fee award was reasonable under the circumstances.
Ruling and Disposition
The court approved the parties’ proposed settlement as fair and reasonable. It ordered that Manjarrez receive $26,162 and that his counsel receive $13,838, including $13,081 in fees and $757 in costs. The action was dismissed with prejudice, and the clerk was directed to close the case. The order approved a settlement rather than deciding whether the defendants actually violated the FLSA or NYLL.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.