Giron Guzman v. Raffanna LLC

Background

Jose Giron Guzman and Humberto Vasquez sued Raffana LLC, doing business as Da Raffaele Restaurant, and Raffaele Esposito. The opinion refers to the plaintiffs’ wage-and-hour claims, including claims for unpaid wages and liquidated and statutory damages. The parties submitted a fully executed settlement agreement and asked the court to approve it under the Second Circuit’s requirements for reviewing certain wage settlements.

Court’s Analysis

The court found the settlement’s economic terms fair and reasonable. Those terms included the amount each plaintiff would receive, the payment schedule, and the plaintiffs’ remedies if the defendants breached the agreement. Based on the complaint and counsel’s representations, the court concluded that each plaintiff would receive more than his total claimed unpaid wages and some portion of possible liquidated and statutory damages.

The court also found the non-economic terms fair and reasonable. Although the release was given only by the plaintiffs, its scope was limited to the wage-and-hour claims involved in the lawsuit. The agreement contained no confidentiality or non-disparagement clause.

The court further found the payment to plaintiffs’ counsel fair and reasonable. Counsel would receive a contingency fee equal to one-third of the total settlement amount, minus costs. The court noted that this fee was less than 40 percent of counsel’s lodestar, which is an estimate based on the time spent working on the case.

Disposition

Magistrate Judge Gary Stein approved the settlement agreement. Because the agreement required payment in six monthly installments, and because the parties’ proposed stipulation provided that the court would retain authority to enforce the agreement, the court decided that retaining jurisdiction was appropriate. The Clerk of Court was directed to close the case. The opinion does not state that the proposed stipulation of dismissal with prejudice was separately entered as an order.