Shaw v. ProCore, LLC
- Analisa Torres
- 1:21-cv-03883
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Shaw v. ProCore, Judge Torres approved the revised wage settlement after finding its amount, release, and fees fair.
Aliscia Shaw and ProCore, LLC, along with Shaw’s counsel as to the approved attorney-fee and cost award.
What happened
In Shaw v. ProCore, LLC, Aliscia Shaw accused ProCore, LLC of failing to pay overtime, making unlawful wage deductions, and providing required wage notices and statements under federal and New York law. The parties asked the court to approve a revised settlement after the court rejected an earlier agreement.
The revised settlement pays Shaw $9,687 and her lawyer $5,313 in fees and costs, for a total of $15,000. The court found that amount fair in light of Shaw’s possible recovery, the risks of proving her claims, the parties’ earlier negotiations, and the revised release of claims.
Judge Analisa Torres granted the parties’ motion to approve the revised settlement. The court also found the attorney-fee and cost award reasonable.
The detailed version
- Shaw v. ProCore, LLC · No. 1:21-cv-03883
- Analisa Torres
- Jan. 4, 2024
Background
Aliscia Shaw sued ProCore, LLC under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal wage law, and the New York Labor Law. She alleged that ProCore failed to pay overtime wages, made unlawful wage deductions, and failed to provide required wage statements and notices.
The parties previously reached a settlement, but the Court declined to approve it because the proposed amount was not sufficiently supported and the release clause was too broad. They then submitted a revised settlement and asked the Court to approve it.
Settlement Amount and Risks
The revised settlement provides $15,000 in total: $9,687 to Shaw and $5,313 to her counsel for fees and costs. The parties stated that Shaw’s unpaid-wage damages were about $12,217.20. They also identified possible additional damages and penalties, producing a best-case trial recovery of $80,389.51. The settlement therefore represented approximately 12 percent of that potential recovery.
The Court found the amount fair and reasonable because Shaw faced substantial risks in proving her claims. Those risks included disputes about whether her duties qualified her as a manual worker, whether ProCore could assert a good-faith defense to liquidated damages, whether she received a valid meal break, and whether she was exempt during part of the relevant period.
Release and Fees
The Court found that the revised release clause adequately addressed its earlier concerns. Although the release still covered ProCORE, its parent companies, and certain associated people and entities, it limited the released claims to claims concerning Shaw’s wage-notification, wage-payment, and unpaid-compensation claims in this action. The release was also mutual, releasing Shaw from claims ProCore might have had against her.
The Court had previously found that the parties negotiated at arm’s length, that they were represented by experienced wage-and-hour attorneys, and that there was no evidence of fraud or collusion. It also found the fees and costs in the revised settlement reasonable.
Disposition
The Court GRANTED the parties’ motion for approval of the Revised Settlement.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.