Odom v. Bahama Bob's Beachside Cafe, Inc. et al

Filing 30

ORDER granting 25 Amended Motion to Approve Settlement Agreement. Signed by District Judge William H. Steele on 8/16/2017. (tgw)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
MIKEAL ODOM,
Plaintiff,
v.
BAHAMA BOB’S BEACHSIDE
CAFE, et al.,
Defendants.

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) CIVIL ACTION 17-0074-WS-N
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ORDER

This FLSA matter is before the Court on the parties’ amended joint motion
to approve settlement agreement. (Doc. 25).1
“Other than a section 216(c) payment supervised by the Department of
Labor, there is only one context in which compromises of FLSA back wage or
liquidated damage claims may be allowed: a stipulated judgment entered by a
court which has determined that a settlement proposed by an employer and
employees, in a suit brought by the employees under the FLSA, is a fair and
reasonable resolution of a bona fide dispute over FLSA provisions.” Lynn’s Food
Stores v. United States, 679 F.2d 1350, 1355 (11th Cir. 1982); accord Nall v. MalMotels, Inc., 723 F.3d 1304, 1307-08 (11th Cir. 2013) (under Lynn’s Food Stores,
which “applies to settlements between former employees and employers” as well
as current employees, an FLSA settlement not made under the supervision of the
Secretary of Labor “is valid only if the district court entered a ‘stipulated
judgment’ approving it”). The parties’ motion is brought in light of Lynn’s and
Nall.

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Because the parties filed an amended motion, their original motion, (Doc. 23), is
denied as moot.

Upon review of the complaint, the motion and other relevant documents in
the file, the Court is satisfied that the settlement is fair and reasonable under the
governing standards. The Court also notes that the concerns articulated in
Crabtree v. Volkert, Inc., 2013 WL 593500 (S.D. Ala. 2013), are absent here.
For the reasons set forth above, the motion is granted and the settlement is
approved. Judgment shall be entered accordingly by separate order.
DONE and ORDERED this 16th day of August, 2017.
s/ WILLIAM H. STEELE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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