Nordhaus v. Reichenbach Restaurant Group

Background

Melissa Nordhaus filed a class action complaint alleging that the defendants violated the New York Labor Law and related New York regulations by failing to pay employees proper minimum wages, overtime wages, uniform expenses, and spread-of-hours premiums. The parties executed a Joint Settlement Agreement and Release resolving the matter for $30,000.

The court preliminarily approved the settlement, certified a settlement class for settlement purposes, appointed Nordhaus as class representative, appointed Caruso Glynn, LLC as class counsel, approved class notice, and scheduled a fairness hearing. The Claims Administrator mailed notice to class members. At the fairness hearing, class counsel reported zero objections and five opt-outs. The defendants did not oppose final approval.

Settlement Class and Approval

The court certified, for settlement purposes only, a class consisting of Nordhaus and all non-exempt employees—including bartenders, servers, bussers, runners, hosts, hostesses, line cooks, head servers, or porters—who worked for the defendants in New York during the stated class period and did not opt out.

The court granted the Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement, Service Award to Named Plaintiff, and Award of Class Counsel’s Attorneys’ Fees and Costs. It finally approved the $30,000 settlement and found it fair, adequate, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class. The court considered the risks of proving liability, the time and expense of continued litigation, the possibility of trial and appeal, and the fact that the settlement provided a guaranteed recovery rather than a speculative possibility of a larger recovery.

Awards and Distribution

The court approved a $1,500 service award to Nordhaus, to be paid from the settlement fund, based on the time and effort attributed to the named plaintiff and the risks undertaken in prosecuting the case.

The court also granted class counsel $10,000 in attorneys’ fees—33.33 percent of the settlement fund—and $5,000 in costs, for a total of $15,000. Those amounts were to be paid from the settlement fund. The court found the fee request fair and reasonable after considering the risks, complexity, work performed, amount recovered, and counsel’s contingent representation.

Within 21 days of the settlement’s Effective Date, the Claims Administrator was directed to pay $15,000 to class counsel, $1,500 to Nordhaus, and $11,553.55 in claims-administration fees. The remaining settlement funds, after the specified deductions, were to be distributed to class members under the allocation plan in the Settlement Agreement.

Final Disposition

The order defined the Effective Date by reference to entry of the final approval order and finality of the judgment, including the expiration or completion of available rehearing, reconsideration, and appellate-review procedures. The court retained jurisdiction to enforce the Settlement Agreement and oversee distribution of the settlement funds.

The court dismissed the litigation in its entirety with prejudice. Class members who did not exclude themselves were conclusively deemed to have released and discharged the defendants from claims released by the settlement and were permanently enjoined from pursuing or seeking to reopen those claims. Judge J. PAUL OETKEN directed the Clerk of Court to mark the case closed.