Arias v. Grill Master Cafe of South Florida, Inc. et al

Filing 54

ORDER Approving Settlement and DISMISSING CASE with Prejudice. Signed by Magistrate Judge John J. O'Sullivan on 3/20/2014. (tro)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO. 13-21123-CIV-O'SULLIVAN
[CONSENT]
JUAN CARLOS GANDARA
ARIAS and all others similarly
situated under 29 U.S.C. 216(b),
Plaintiff,
v.
GRILL MASTER CAFÉ OF SOUTH
FLORIDA, INC., et al.,
Defendants.
______________________________/

ORDER APPROVING SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND DISMISSING CASE WITH
PREJUDICE
THIS MATTER came before the Court following settlement 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 a claim for 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 factual and legal dispute over whether the Court
has jurisdiction and a bona fide factual dispute as to the number of hours for which the
plaintiff was not compensated. 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 July 1, 2014 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 20th day of March,
2014.
JOHN J. O’SULLIVAN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Copies to:
All counsel of record

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