Schur v. Strategic Financial Solutions, L.L.C. et al

Filing 74

ORDER. By April 16, 2021, Plaintiffs' counsel shall submit appropriate billing records and costs documentation corresponding with the requested amount of attorneys' fees and costs in the proposed settlement. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Magistrate Judge Sarah L Cave on 4/9/21) (yv)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
DANIEL SCHUR,
Plaintiff,
-v-

CIVIL ACTION NO.: 17 Civ. 546 (PGG) (SLC)

STRATEGIC FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS, L.L.C.,
STRATEGIC CONSULTING, LLC, RYAN SASSON, and
KIM CELIC,

ORDER

Defendants.
SARAH L. CAVE, United States Magistrate Judge.
The parties in this wage-and-hour case under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) have
consented to my jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 636(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 73 for purposes of
reviewing their proposed settlement (ECF No. 72), and have now submitted a joint Letter-Motion
in support of settlement (ECF No. 73) and proposed settlement agreement (ECF No. 73-1) for
approval under Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc., 796 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2015).
“Where a proposed settlement of FLSA claims includes the payment of attorney’s fees,
the court must also assess the reasonableness of the fee award.” Wolinsky v. Scholastic Inc., 900
F. Supp. 2d 332, 336 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) (citing 29 U.S.C. § 216(b)). “To aid a court in determining the
reasonableness of proposed attorney’s fees, counsel must submit evidence providing a factual
basis for the award.” Id. “In the Second Circuit, that entails submitting contemporaneous billing
records documenting, for each attorney, the date, the hours expended, and the nature of the
work done.” Id. (citing N.Y. State Ass’n for Retarded Children, Inc. v. Carey, 711 F.2d 1136, 1148
(2d Cir.1983)).

Although the Settlement Agreement contemplates an allocation of attorneys’ fees and
costs to Plaintiffs’ counsel, the parties have not submitted for the Court’s review Plaintiffs’
counsel’s billing records and costs documentation, without which the Court cannot complete its
review of the proposed settlement. See Mamani v. Licetti, No. 13 Civ. 7002 (KMW) (JCF), 2014
WL 2971050, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. July 2, 2014) (rejecting request of attorneys’ fees in the absence of
substantiating documentation that would allow the court to assess the reasonableness of the
fee).
Accordingly, by April 16, 2021, Plaintiffs’ counsel shall submit appropriate billing records
and costs documentation corresponding with the requested amount of attorneys’ fees and costs
in the proposed settlement.
Dated:

New York, New York
April 9, 2021
SO ORDERED

_________________________
SARAH L. CAVE
United States Magistrate Judge

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