Dougherty v. 2With Deli, Corp.
- Edgardo Ramos
- 1:23-cv-03496
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
In Dougherty v. 2With Deli Corp., Judge Ramos approved a revised wage-and-hour settlement paying Dougherty $33,600 and her counsel $16,400.
Michelle Dougherty receives $33,600 under the approved settlement, and her counsel receives $16,400 in attorneys’ fees and costs. The agreement resolves Dougherty’s wage-related claims against 2With Deli Corp. and Andrew Wengrover, and the case is closed.
What happened
In Dougherty v. 2With Deli Corp. and Andrew Wengrover, Michelle Dougherty claimed that the defendants violated federal and New York wage laws by failing to pay minimum wages, overtime, and other compensation and by failing to provide required notices and wage statements.
The parties proposed a $50,000 settlement. Dougherty would receive $33,600 after $16,400 in attorneys’ fees and costs. The court had previously declined to approve an earlier proposal because it lacked information about Dougherty’s hours, hourly wage, and estimated total recovery. The revised proposal provided that information and limited the release to wage-related claims.
Judge Edgardo Ramos granted the revised motion, finding the settlement, attorneys’ fees and costs, and other agreement provisions fair and reasonable. The court approved the agreement, directed the clerk to terminate the motion, and closed the case.
The detailed version
- Dougherty v. 2With Deli, Corp. · No. 1:23-cv-03496
- Edgardo Ramos
- Dec. 5, 2023
Background
Michelle Dougherty sued 2With Deli Corp. and Andrew Wengrover under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the New York Labor Law, and New York wage regulations. She alleged that the defendants failed to pay the lawful minimum wage, overtime compensation, and spread-of-hours compensation, and failed to provide required wage notices and wage statements. The action was brought on behalf of Dougherty and others similarly situated.
The parties first asked the court to approve a settlement on November 10, 2023. The court declined to approve that proposal without prejudice because the parties had not provided estimates of Dougherty’s hours, hourly wage, or total recovery. The parties then submitted a revised settlement-approval motion.
Settlement Terms and Fairness Review
The revised agreement provided for a total payment of $50,000. Dougherty would receive $33,600 after the payment of approximately $16,400 in attorneys’ fees and costs. Dougherty estimated that her maximum recovery on all claims could be $132,550, so the settlement represented approximately 25% of that possible recovery.
The court found the amount fair and reasonable because it gave Dougherty a recovery without the risks, expenses, and delay of continued litigation. The court also found that the agreement resulted from arm’s-length negotiations conducted with experienced counsel at a court-appointed mediation and resolved genuine disputes.
Attorneys’ Fees and Other Terms
The court approved $16,400 in attorneys’ fees and costs, approximately one-third of the settlement. It reviewed counsel’s billing records and calculated a total lodestar—the reasonable hourly rates multiplied by the reasonable hours worked—of $15,047.50. The requested fee produced a multiplier of approximately 1.09, which the court accepted as reasonable under the circumstances.
The court also found the agreement’s other provisions fair and reasonable. The release covered past and present claims under the FLSA or New York Labor Law related to Dougherty’s work and employment with the defendants. The agreement did not contain confidentiality or non-disparagement provisions and did not include an objectionable release.
Disposition
Judge Edgardo Ramos approved the parties’ revised settlement agreement. The clerk was directed to terminate the settlement motion, and the court closed the case.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.