Sanchez v. Italian Boutique Restaurants, LLC et al
Filing
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ORDER denying 26 Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney Fees and Motion to Compel Enforcement of Settlement. Signed by Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman on 3/24/2015. (tr00)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
MIAMI DIVISION
CASE NO. 14‐23020‐CIV‐LENARD/GOODMAN
ELEAZER SANCHEZ,
Plaintiff,
v.
ITALIAN BOUTIQUE RESTAURANTS,
LLC, et al.,
Defendants.
____________________________________/
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO COMPEL ENFORCEMENT OF
SETTLEMENT AND MOTION FOR ATTORNEY’S FEES
This matter is before the Undersigned on the District Court’s referral [ECF No.
29] of Plaintiff’s Motion for Attorneyʹs Fees and Motion to Compel Enforcement of
Settlement (the “Motion”) [ECF No. 26]. Defendants responded in opposition to the
Motion [ECF No. 27] and Plaintiff filed a reply in support [ECF No. 28]. The
Undersigned held a hearing (the “Hearing”) to address the Motion on March 23, 2015.
[ECF No. 31].
This matter first came before the Undersigned for a settlement conference held
on December 2, 2014. [ECF No. 22]. The settlement conference seemingly resulted in a
settlement agreement concerning Plaintiff’s Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) claims,
which was read into the record at the conclusion of the conference. However, pursuant
to the law of the Eleventh Circuit, the District Court must review each proposed FLSA
settlement agreement for a determination of whether it represents ʺa fair and reasonable
resolution of a bona fide dispute over FLSA provisions.ʺ Lynnʹs Food Stores, Inc. v.
United States, 679 F.2d 1350, 1355 (11th Cir. 1982). District Judge Joan A. Lenard
dismissed this case without prejudice on January 8, 2015 and ordered the parties to
submit a fully‐executed settlement agreement for the Court’s approval within 15 days.
[ECF No. 23]. As of the date of this Order, the parties have yet to submit such an
agreement, and instead, the present Motion is before the Court.
As the Undersigned stated at the Hearing, Plaintiff’s Motion is denied because
the parties never agreed to a material term, which is now disputed, and therefore, there
is no settlement for the Court to enforce. Settlements are governed by the rules of
contract interpretation, which require the parties to have “said the same thing as to the
essential elements.” Robbie v. City of Miami, 469 So. 2d 1384, 1395 (Fla. 1985). The terms
of the settlement agreement read into the record at the Hearing do not include any
mention of the allocation of settlement funds for tax purposes.
Specifically, the parties never discussed which portion of the settlement would
be reflected on a W‐2 (and be subject to income tax withholding) and which would be
listed on a 1099 (and not be subject to withholding). Without agreement on this pivotal
term, there is ultimately no settlement agreement for the Undersigned to enforce.
Accordingly, the Motion is DENIED and the parties are ORDERED to attempt to
resolve their impasse on the issue of allocation for tax purposes by Friday, March 27,
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2015. If the issue is resolved by March 27, 2015, then the parties are to jointly file a
Notice with the Court indicating that an agreement has been reached, and by April 3,
2015, the parties shall file a fully‐executed settlement agreement for the District Courtʹs
approval pursuant to Lynnʹs Food, 679 F.2d at 1355. If the issue is not resolved by March
27, 2015, then the parties are to jointly file a Notice with the Court indicating that no
agreement has been reached, and by April 3, 2015, Plaintiff may, at his option, either
move to rescind the dismissal and reopen the case, or file a new lawsuit.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers, at Miami, Florida, March 24, 2015.
Copies furnished to:
The Honorable Joan A. Lenard
All counsel of record
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