Pickering v. Lorillard Tobacco Company, Inc.

Filing 87

ORDER AS FOLLOWS: (1) the parties' joint Motion for an Order Approving Settlement 85 is GRANTED, and the settlement agreement is APPROVED; (2) all claims in this action are DISMISSED with prejudice on the terms agreed to by the parties and set out in the Stipulation 83 ; and (3) the Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to close this case. Signed by Chief Judge William Keith Watkins on 9/18/2012. (jg, ) TERMINATED: Final Pretrial Conference 10/11/2012; Jury Trial 11/05/2012

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
NORTHERN DIVISION
JAMES PICKERING, JR., and
BRANDUM LYNUM,
Plaintiffs,
v.
LORILLARD TOBACCO
CO., INC.,
Defendant.

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) CASE NO. 2:10-CV-633-WKW
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[WO]
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ORDER

Before the court is the parties’ Joint Memorandum in Support of an Order
Approving Settlement on Plaintiffs’ claims alleging violations of the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219.1 (Doc. # 85.) The joint
memorandum is construed as containing a Motion for an Order Approving Settlement.
In this private action brought for back wages under the FLSA, the court must
examine whether the settlement “is a fair and reasonable resolution of a bona fide
dispute over FLSA provisions.” Lynn’s Food Stores, Inc. v. United States of Am. ex.
rel. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, 679 F.2d 1350, 1353 (11th Cir. 1982). To that end, the court
has reviewed the settlement agreement in camera, and the parties’ joint memorandum
explaining the basis of the settlement, the amount of recovery, and the litigation’s

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Plaintiff James Pickering Jr. commenced this action in July 2010. In October 2011, Plaintiff
Brandon Lynum filed his consent to join this litigation. (Doc. # 58.)

costs and risks. The court also has considered the representation of experienced
counsel that the settlement agreement is the product of arms-length negotiations.
After careful consideration, the court finds that the settlement agreement is fair,
reasonable and not the product of collusion and that it resolves a bona fide dispute
under the FLSA. Accordingly, it is ORDERED as follows:
(1)

the parties’ joint Motion for an Order Approving Settlement (Doc. # 85)

is GRANTED, and the settlement agreement is APPROVED;
(2)

all claims in this action are DISMISSED with prejudice on the terms

agreed to by the parties and set out in the Stipulation (Doc. # 83); and
(3)

the Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to close this case.

DONE this 18th day of September, 2012.
/s/ W. Keith Watkins
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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