Filed: Nov. 04, 2014
Latest Update: Nov. 04, 2014
Summary: REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION 1 CAROL MIRANDO, Magistrate Judge. Before the Court is the parties' Joint Motion to Approve Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") Settlement and for Dismissal With Prejudice (Doc. 14), and the FLSA Settlement Agreement and Limited Release (Doc.14 at 6-8, "settlement agreement") was filed for the Court's review. Plaintiff Brian Fahrenkamp ("Fahrenkamp") is requesting that the Court approve the parties' settlement of the FLSA claim for overtime wages. For the reasons set
Summary: REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION 1 CAROL MIRANDO, Magistrate Judge. Before the Court is the parties' Joint Motion to Approve Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") Settlement and for Dismissal With Prejudice (Doc. 14), and the FLSA Settlement Agreement and Limited Release (Doc.14 at 6-8, "settlement agreement") was filed for the Court's review. Plaintiff Brian Fahrenkamp ("Fahrenkamp") is requesting that the Court approve the parties' settlement of the FLSA claim for overtime wages. For the reasons set f..
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REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION1
CAROL MIRANDO, Magistrate Judge.
Before the Court is the parties' Joint Motion to Approve Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") Settlement and for Dismissal With Prejudice (Doc. 14), and the FLSA Settlement Agreement and Limited Release (Doc.14 at 6-8, "settlement agreement") was filed for the Court's review. Plaintiff Brian Fahrenkamp ("Fahrenkamp") is requesting that the Court approve the parties' settlement of the FLSA claim for overtime wages. For the reasons set forth herein, the Court recommends that the settlement be APPROVED.
To approve the settlement, the Court must determine whether the settlement is a "fair and reasonable resolution of a bona fide dispute" of the claims raised pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Lynn's Food Store, Inc. v. United States, 679 F.2d 1350, 1355 (11th Cir. 1982). There are two ways for a claim under the FLSA to be settled or compromised. Id. at 1352-53. The first is under 29 U.S.C. § 216(c), providing for the Secretary of Labor to supervise the payments of unpaid wages owed to employees. Id. at 1353. The second is under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) when an action is brought by employees against their employer to recover back wages. Id. When the employee files suit, the proposed settlement must be presented to the district court for the district court's review and determination that the settlement is fair and reasonable. Id. at 1353-54.
The Eleventh Circuit found settlements to be permissible when the lawsuit is brought by employees under the FLSA for back wages because the lawsuit
provides some assurance of an adversarial context. The employees are likely to be represented by an attorney who can protect their rights under the statute. Thus, when the parties submit a settlement to the court for approval, the settlement is more likely to reflect a reasonable compromise of disputed issues than a mere waiver of statutory rights brought about by an employer's overreaching. If a settlement in an employee FLSA suit does reflect a reasonable compromise over issues, such as FLSA coverage or computation of back wages, that are actually in dispute; we allow the district court to approve the settlement in order to promote the policy of encouraging settlement of litigation.
Id. at 1354.
In this case, Plaintiff worked as an air conditioning maintenance technician for Defendant from approximately April 2013 to July 2014, and brings a claim for unpaid overtime, alleging he worked in excess of 40 hours per week for which he was not compensated at time and a half. Doc. 1 at ¶ 14-19. In his Answers to the Court's Interrogatories, filed September 18, 2014, Plaintiff alleged he was due $3,045.00 in overtime wages and $3,045.00 in liquidated damages. Doc. 13-1. Plaintiff also stated that as of September 18, 2014, he had incurred attorney's fees in the amount of $5,100.00 (12 hours at an hourly rate of $425.00) and costs in the amount of $435.00. Doc. 13.
As a reasonable compromise of the disputed issues, Defendant has agreed to pay Plaintiff the sum of $2,250.00 for overtime wages and an additional $2,250.00 in liquidated damages. Defendant further agrees to pay Plaintiff's attorney's fees in the amount of $4,000.00 and costs in the amount of $435.00. The parties assert that the amount of attorneys' fees was negotiated separately from Plaintiff's recovery and did not affect the amount of recovery. Doc. 14 at 3. Pursuant to Bonetti v. Embarq Mgmt. Co., 715 F.Supp.2d 1222, 1228 (M.D. Fla. 2009),
the best way to insure that no conflict [of interest between an attorney's economic interests and those of his client] has tainted the settlement is for the parties to reach agreement as to the plaintiff's recovery before the fees of the plaintiff's counsel are considered. If these matters are addressed independently and seriatim, there is no reason to assume that the lawyer's fee has influenced the reasonableness of the plaintiff's settlement.
Although the Court must consider the reasonableness of any award of attorney's fees, it is not required to conduct an in-depth analysis of the award unless it is unreasonable on its face. Bodnar v. Gourmet Hut, Inc., No. 3:13-cv-709-J-34JRK, 2014 WL 757981, at *3 n.4 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 26, 2014) (order adopting report and recommendation).
In this case, Defendant agreed to pay Plaintiff's counsel $4,000.00 in attorney's fees, which were agreed upon separately, without regard to the amount paid to the Plaintiff. Doc. 14 at 3. Thus, the Court finds the fee to be reasonable.2 Having reviewed the settlement documentation (Doc. 14 at 6-8), the Court concludes that the settlement is a fair and reasonable resolution of a bona fide dispute under the FLSA.3
ACCORDINGLY, it is respectfully
RECOMMENDED:
1. The Parties' Renewed Joint Motion and Memorandum of Law in Support of Request for Approval of Settlement (Doc. 14) be GRANTED, and the Settlement Agreement (Doc. 14 at 6-8) be APPROVED by the Court as a fair and reasonable resolution of a bona fide dispute under the FLSA.
2. The Court enter an order DISMISSING this action and the Clerk be directed to close the file.
