Velez v. Tzadik Properties LLC

Filing 18

ORDER: The Joint Motion to Approve Settlement and to Dismiss with Prejudice (Doc. # 17 ) is GRANTED. The parties' settlement is approved. This case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. The Clerk is directed to CLOSE THE CASE. Signed by Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington on 5/18/2018. (KAK)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
JOSE VELEZ,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 8:18-cv-310-T-33TGW

TZADIK PROPERTIES LLC,
Defendant.
______________________________/
ORDER
This matter is before the Court pursuant to the parties’
Joint

Motion

to

Approve

Settlement

and

to

Dismiss

Prejudice (Doc. # 17), which was filed on May 17, 2018.

with
The

Court grants the Motion.
I.

Background
Plaintiff Jose Velez filed this Fair Labor Standards Act

case on February 6, 2018. (Doc. # 1). On February 21, 2018,
the

Court

issued

its

FLSA

Scheduling

Order,

which

also

referred the case to a mediation with Mark Hanley, Esq. (Doc.
# 7).

Defendant Tzadik Properties LLC filed an Answer and

Affirmative Defenses on March 5, 2018. (Doc. # 8).
Plaintiff filed Answers to the Court’s Interrogatories
on March 26, 2018 (Doc. # 11). On April 10, 2018, Defendant
filed its Verified Summary of Hours Worked by Plaintiff. (Doc.
# 12). On May 10, 2018, the parties reported that they reached
a full settlement. (Doc. # 15). At the Court’s direction, the
parties have filed a Motion for Court approval of their

settlement. (Doc. # 17).
II.

Analysis
Plaintiff alleges that Defendant violated the overtime

provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Accordingly, any

settlement reached between the parties is subject to judicial
scrutiny.

See Lynn's Food Stores, Inc. v. United States, 679

F.2d 1350, 1353 (11th Cir. 1982).

The parties have reached a

settlement wherein it is agreed that Plaintiff will receive
$2,927.50 for unpaid wages, $2,927.50 for liquidated damages,
and $200.00 as other consideration.

It has also been agreed

that Plaintiff’s counsel will receive $3,500.00 in attorney’s
fees and costs.
In the Motion, the parties represent that the attorney's
fees to be paid to counsel were negotiated separately and
without regard to the amount to be paid to Plaintiff for
alleged

FLSA

violations.

Pursuant

to

Bonetti

v.

Embarq

Management Company, 715 F. Supp. 2d 1222, 1228 (M.D. Fla.
2009)

and

other

governing

law,

the

Court

approves

the

compromise reached by the parties in an effort to amicably
settle this case.1

The settlement is fair on its face and

1

In Bonetti, the court explained: "if the parties submit
a proposed FLSA settlement that, (1) constitutes a compromise
of the plaintiff's claims; (2) makes a full and adequate
disclosure of the terms of settlement, including the factors
and reasons considered in reaching same and justifying the
compromise of the plaintiff's claims; and (3) represents that
the plaintiff's attorneys' fee was agreed upon separately and
2

represents a reasonable compromise of the parties' dispute.
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED:
(1)

The Joint Motion to Approve Settlement and to Dismiss
with Prejudice (Doc. # 17) is GRANTED.

(2)

The parties' settlement is approved.

This case is

DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.
(3)

The Clerk is directed to CLOSE THE CASE.
DONE and ORDERED in Chambers, in Tampa, Florida, this

18th day of May, 2018.

without regard to the amount paid to the plaintiff, then,
unless the settlement does not appear reasonable on its face
or there is reason to believe that the plaintiff's recovery
was adversely affected by the amount of fees paid to his
attorney, the Court will approve the settlement without
separately considering the reasonableness of the fee to be
paid to plaintiff's counsel." 715 F. Supp. 2d at 1228.
3