Abreu v. Torti Food, Corp.
- Analisa Torres
- 1:20-cv-10643
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Abreu v. Torti Food, Judge Torres approved the parties’ revised $45,000 settlement of FLSA and New York wage claims.
Ramon Abreu, Torti Food, Corp., LMP Coffee Shop Inc., Demetria Chapman, Jose Perez, and Abreu’s counsel are affected by the approved settlement. The settlement provides Abreu $30,000 and his counsel $15,000 in fees and costs, for a $45,000 total payment.
What happened
Ramon Abreu sued Torti Food, Corp., LMP Coffee Shop Inc., Demetria Chapman, and Jose Perez, alleging unpaid overtime, inaccurate wage statements, missing wage notices, unlawful wage deductions, and retaliation under federal and New York wage laws. The parties reached an earlier settlement, but the court declined to approve it because the amount could not be evaluated and the release was too broad.
The revised settlement provides $45,000 total: $30,000 for Abreu and $15,000 for his lawyers’ fees and costs. Abreu supplied a damages calculation supporting the proposed amount, and the revised agreement narrowed the release so that it covered only the defendants and parties involved in this case and mutually released claims as described in the agreement.
Judge Analisa Torres found the settlement amount, release, and attorneys’ fees and costs fair and reasonable. The court granted the parties’ motion for approval of the revised settlement.
The detailed version
- Abreu v. Torti Food, Corp. · No. 1:20-cv-10643
- Analisa Torres
- Jan. 4, 2024
Background
Ramon Abreu brought claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law. He alleged that the defendants failed to pay overtime wages, provide accurate wage statements and wage notices, and avoid unlawful wage deductions, and that they retaliated against him. The parties previously submitted a settlement for approval. The court declined to approve that agreement because it could not evaluate whether the amount was reasonable and because the liability-release provision was overbroad.
The parties then submitted a revised settlement and asked the court to approve it. Under the revised agreement, the total payment is $45,000, including attorneys’ fees and costs. Abreu is to receive $30,000, and his counsel is to receive $15,000 in fees and costs.
Court’s analysis
For an FLSA settlement, the court required the parties to show that the agreement was fair and reasonable. The court considered the amount of Abreu’s possible recovery, the litigation burdens and risks, the bargaining process, and the possibility of fraud or collusion. Abreu provided calculations based on his weekly salary, hourly pay rates, and hours worked. The parties stated that his best potential FLSA recovery at trial was $26,447.14 in unpaid wages plus $26,447.14 in liquidated damages. The court separately calculated his overtime pay as $26,449.99, noting that the roughly two-dollar difference did not affect its assessment. The court found the revised settlement amount reasonable.
The revised release was also narrower than the earlier one. It no longer released entities beyond the defendants or bound entities other than Abreu. The release was mutual, and the court found it fair and reasonable. The court also reaffirmed its prior conclusion that the fees and costs were reasonable.
Disposition
Judge Analisa Torres granted the parties’ motion for approval of the revised settlement.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.