Esola v. Art Plumbing & Air Conditioning, LLC. et al

Filing 35

ORDER approving settlement and DISMISSING CASE with prejudice. The Court retains jurisdiction until December 27, 2017 to enforce the terms of the settlement. Closing Case. Signed by Magistrate Judge John J. O'Sullivan on 11/27/2017. (mkr) NOTICE: If there are sealed documents in this case, they may be unsealed after 1 year or as directed by Court Order, unless they have been designated to be permanently sealed. See Local Rule 5.4 and Administrative Order 2014-69.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
Case No. 16-63028-CIV-O’SULLIVAN
[CONSENT]
DONALD ESOLA,
Plaintiff,
v.
ART PLUMBING & AIR CONDITIONING,
LLC, a Florida Limited Liability Company, and
GREGG A. D’ATTILE, an individual,
Defendants.
________________________________/
ORDER APPROVING SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND
DISMISSING CASE WITH PREJUDICE
THIS MATTER came before the Court following notice from the parties that the
case has settled and the Court having conducted a hearing concerning the settlement.
THE COURT has heard from counsel and considered the terms of the
Settlement Agreement, the pertinent portions of the record, and is otherwise fully
advised in the premises.
This case involves claims for minimum wage and unpaid overtime compensation
under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §201, et seq ("FLSA"). In reviewing a
settlement of an FLSA private claim, a court must "scrutiniz[e] the settlement for
fairness," and determine that the settlement is a "fair and reasonable resolution of a
bona fide dispute over FLSA provisions." Lynn Food Stores v. United States, 679 F.2d
1350, 1352-53 (11th Cir. 1982). A settlement entered into in an adversarial context
where both sides are represented by counsel throughout litigation "is more likely to
reflect a reasonable compromise of disputed issues." Id. The district court may approve
the settlement in order to promote the policy of encouraging settlement of litigation. Id.
at 1354.

In this case, there is a bona fide legal and factual dispute over whether the
plaintiff was an exempt employee. The terms of the settlement were announced on the
record in open Court. The Court has reviewed the terms of the Settlement Agreement
including the amount to be received by the plaintiff and the attorney’s fees and costs to
be received by counsel and finds that the compromise reached by the parties is a fair
and reasonable resolution of the parties' bona fide disputes. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the parties' Settlement Agreement (including
attorney’s fees and costs) is hereby APPROVED. It is further
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that this case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.
The Court retains jurisdiction until December 27, 2017 to enforce the terms of the
settlement.
The Clerk of Court is directed to mark this case as CLOSED.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Miami, Florida this 27th day of
November, 2017.

JOHN J. O’SULLIVAN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Copies to:
All counsel of record