Curry v. P&G Auditors and Consultants, LLC

Background

The opinion concerns two wage-and-hour actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The parties consented to Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave’s jurisdiction to review their proposed settlement. They submitted a joint motion, the settlement agreement, supporting exhibits, and supplemental exhibits about plaintiffs’ litigation costs. The court also participated in a settlement-related conference.

Court’s Analysis

The court reviewed the motion, agreement, exhibits, and the settlement-related conference materials. Applying the standards used for reviewing Fair Labor Standards Act settlements, the court found that all settlement terms—including the allocation of attorneys’ fees and costs—appeared fair and reasonable under the circumstances. The opinion does not state the settlement amount or describe the individual payment amounts.

Order

The court approved the settlement and adopted the agreement’s terms, requiring the parties to carry them out. It approved plaintiffs’ counsel’s attorneys’ fees and costs, approved Rust Consulting to perform settlement-administration duties for reasonable compensation and costs, and approved the proposed settlement notice, claim-form procedures, and deadlines for submitting claim forms or requesting exclusion from the settlement.

The court terminated all pending motions as moot. Within three business days after the agreement’s specified preliminary steps were completed, the parties were required to file dismissal stipulations for the court’s review and approval. Once those stipulations were approved, the actions would be dismissed with prejudice and without costs to any party except as provided in the agreement. Claims of settlement collective members who timely requested exclusion would instead be dismissed without prejudice. The court retained continuing and exclusive jurisdiction over the agreement’s administration, supervision, interpretation, and enforcement.