Gilliam v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP
Filing
30
ORDER granting 25 Motion to dismiss complaint with prejudice and plaintiff's 1 Complaint is dismissed with prejudice as moot. The Clerk shall enter judgment accordingly, terminate all deadlines and motions as moot, and close the file. Signed by Judge John E. Steele on 1/13/2012. (RKR)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
LISA GILLIAM, on behalf of herself
and all others similarly situated,
Plaintiff,
vs.
Case No.
2:11-cv-454-FtM-29SPC
WAL-MART STORES EAST, LP, a Foreign
Limited Partnership doing business
as WAL-MART SUPERCENTER,
Defendant.
___________________________________
ORDER
This matter comes before the Court on defendant’s Tender of
Full Payment and Dispositive Motion to Dismiss Complaint With
Prejudice (Doc. #25) filed on December 21, 2011.
Plaintiff filed
a Response (Doc. #27) on December 28, 2011, opposing the motion.
Upon Order (Doc. #28) requesting a reply, defendant filed a Reply
(Doc. #29) on January 12, 2012.
In responses to the Court’s Interrogatories (Doc. #21-1),
plaintiff sought a total of $583.50 plus liquidated damages for
unpaid overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Defendant did not admit any liability but tendered $1,167.00 “to
render Plaintiff’s claim moot.”
(Doc. #25, ¶ 8.)
The amount
covers both the overtime and liquidated damages, and plaintiff does
not dispute this fact. Plaintiff argues that damages are not fully
compensated because attorney’s fees and costs are excluded.
Upon review, the Court finds that, as in Dionne, there has
been no judicial determination of a prevailing party and defendant
has not admitted the allegations in the Complaint.
The Eleventh
Circuit made it clear that the term “prevailing party” does not
authorize an award of fees “without a corresponding alteration in
the legal relationship of the parties.”
Dionne v. Floormasters
Enters., Inc., 647 F.3d 1109, 1113 (11th Cir. 2011).
Although
plaintiff wishes to have the tender of payment construed as a
settlement agreement for judicial approval, no settlement agreement
occurred in this case and the matter was never submitted for
approval by the Court.
The Court will grant the motion and dismiss
the Complaint pursuant to Dionne.
Accordingly, it is now
ORDERED:
Defendant’s Tender of Full Payment and Dispositive Motion to
Dismiss
Complaint
With
Prejudice
(Doc.
#25)
is
GRANTED
and
plaintiff’s Complaint (Doc. #1) is dismissed with prejudice as
moot.
The Clerk shall enter judgment accordingly, terminate all
deadlines and motions as moot, and close the file.
DONE AND ORDERED at Fort Myers, Florida, this
January, 2012.
Copies: Counsel of record
-2-
13th
day of
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