Zivkovic v. Laura Christy LLC

Background

Pavle Zivkovic, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated, brought claims for minimum-wage and overtime underpayments under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law (NYLL). Before trial, the parties stipulated that only the NYLL claims would be submitted to the jury. The court understood that the parties’ agreement would resolve the FLSA claims through the trial process, whether the plaintiffs won or lost on the NYLL claims.

The jury found for the certified plaintiff groups on the NYLL claims on April 11, 2022. On July 4, 2023, the court entered a partial judgment on those claims against Laura Christy LLC, Laura Christy Midtown LLC, and David Ghatanfard, jointly and severally. That judgment did not state how the FLSA claims were resolved. The defendants appealed, and on March 5, 2024, the Court of Appeals sent the case back so the district court could clarify the status of the FLSA claims.

Motion and analysis

The court determined that the FLSA claims remained pending because they had never been dismissed or otherwise adjudicated. The plaintiffs moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(2), which allows a court to impose conditions when dismissing a plaintiff’s claims voluntarily. They asked for a conditional dismissal because the NYLL judgment covered the same injury and plaintiffs could not obtain double recovery under both statutes.

The court stated that it considered the five factors relevant to voluntary dismissal: the plaintiffs’ diligence, whether they acted vexatiously, how far the case had progressed and the defendants’ litigation expenses, the possibility of duplicative litigation costs, and the adequacy of the explanation for dismissal. The opinion does not provide a separate, detailed discussion of each factor.

Ruling

The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for conditional dismissal of their still-pending FLSA claims. It ordered that the FLSA claims be dismissed in light of the jury verdict and judgment on the NYLL claims. The order does not describe the dismissal using a separate “with prejudice” or “without prejudice” designation.

The court further ordered that the FLSA claims may be reinstated if, but only if, the judgment favoring the plaintiffs on the NYLL claims is reversed or otherwise vacated by the Court of Appeals. The court said this condition was consistent with its understanding that trying only the NYLL claims would simplify the trial without creating a substantive adverse effect on the parties’ wage-and-hour positions.