Lopez et al v. ACME American Environmental Co. Inc. et al

Filing 82

ORDER: By letter dated June 19, 2013, the parties informed the court that they had reached a settlement in principle and expected to file stipulation of dismissal without prejudice under Rule 41(1)(A)(ii). In response to the Court's July 18 orde r, the parties wrote in a letter dated July 26, 2013, that the parties plan to provide a settlement agreement shortly and a fairness hearing is not necessary. Although Picerni v. Bilingual Seit & Preschool Inc., No. 12 Civ. 4938, 2013 WL 646649 (E. D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 2013 ), has raised doubts about the need of fairness hearings in settlements under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the weight of authority in this Circuit holds otherwise. See, e.g., Wolinsky v. Scholastic, Inc., 900 F. Supp. 2d 332, 33 5 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) (holding that when "an employee... settle[s] an FLSA claim for unpaid wages for less than the full statutory damages" without supervision by the Secretary of Labor, a district court "must scrutinize the settlement agr eement to determine that the settlement is fair and reasonable"). By August 9, 2013, the parties shall e-mail a letter updating the Court as to the status of settlement. In addition, the parties' obligation to send a joint pretrial order a nd related filings pursuant this Court's Individual Practices by August 26, 2013, remains in effect. Finally, the parties are reminded to send letters as PDF e-mail attachments in accordance with the Court's Individual Practices. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Analisa Torres on 7/30/2013) (rsh)

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USDCSDNY DOCUMENT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK VICTOR M. LOPEZ, LUIS N. ABREU FANA, JOAN E. BIDO VALDEZ, ALEX R. DURAN, JUAN PABLO GOMEZ REYES, EDUARDO OLAVERRIA, JUAN P. HOLGUIN, EDWIN PEREZ, and DEIVY RAFAEL PIMENTEL NUNEZ, !_ ELECTRONICALLy FILED DOC#: DATE F-.~--E-U:--..f..,...(u--j-6/-{~-- ··-~---· Plaintiffs, 12 Civ. 511 (AT) -v- ACME AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL CO. INC., ACME AMERICAN REPAIR, INC., ACME AMERICAN REFRIGERATION, INC., FACTORY PARTS & SERVICE CO., INC., JEFFREY SCHWARTZ, KENNETH STAHN, DAVID ESTES, BIRINDER MADAN, EDWARD J. LEE, DERVAL LAZZARI, and JOHN AND DOES 1 through 10, ORDER Defendants. ANALISA TORRES, United States District Judge: By letter dated June 19,2013, the parties informed the court that they had reached a settlement in principle and expected to file stipulation of dismissal without prejudice under Rule 41 ( 1)(A)(ii). In response to the Court's July 18 order, the parties wrote in a letter dated July 26, 2013, that the parties plan to provide a settlement agreement shortly and a fairness hearing is not necessary. Although Picerni v. Bilingual Seit & Preschool Inc., No. 12 Civ. 4938,2013 WL 646649 (E.D .N.Y. Feb. 22, 2013 ), has raised doubts about the need of fairness hearings in settlements under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the weight of authority in this Circuit holds otherwise. See, e.g., Wolinsky v. Scholastic, Inc., 900 F. Supp. 2d 332, 335 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) (holding that when "an employee ... settle[s] an FLSA claim for unpaid wages for less than the full statutory damages" without supervision by the Secretary of Labor, a district court "must scrutinize the settlement agreement to determine that the settlement is fair and reasonable"). By August 9, 2013, the parties shall e-mail a letter updating the Court as to the status of settlement. In addition, the parties' obligation to send a joint pretrial order and related filings pursuant this Court's Individual Practices by August 26, 2013, remains in effect. Finally, the parties are reminded to send letters as PDF e-mail attachments in accordance with the Court's Individual Practices. SO ORDERED. Dated: July 30, 2013 New York, New York ANALISA TORRES United States District Judge 2

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