Grubbs v. D & S Residential Services, LP

Filing 38

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: the Court GRANTS the motion (Doc. 37 ) and hereby: 1. APPROVES the settlement agreement for an amount of $6,602.00 payable to Plaintiff; 2. AWARDS reasonable attorney's fees and expenses to Plaintiffs counsel in the amount of $898.00; and 3. DISMISSES this action WITH PREJUDICE. AN APPROPRIATE JUDGMENT WILL ENTER. Signed by District Judge Travis R McDonough on 6/3/2021. (BJL)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
AT GREENEVILLE
TERESA GRUBBS,
Plaintiff,
v.
D & S RESIDENTIAL SERVICES, LP,
Defendant.

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Case No. 2:20-cv-75
Judge Travis R. McDonough
Magistrate Judge Cynthia R. Wyrick

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Before the Court is the parties’ joint motion for approval of settlement of claims under
the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) (Doc. 37).
I.

BACKGROUND
Plaintiff filed this action on April 7, 2020, alleging that Defendant violated the FLSA by

failing to adequately compensate her for the hours she worked while employed by Defendant.
(See Doc. 1, at 2, 4–8.) The parties have now settled their dispute and filed their settlement
agreement with the Court. (See Doc. 37-1.) Defendant agrees to pay Plaintiff a total of
$7,500.00 to resolve her claims—$6,602.00 paid directly to Plaintiff and $898.00 in attorneys’
fees and costs. (Doc. 37-1, at 1.) Pursuant to the agreement, Plaintiff will release all claims
related to this dispute against Defendant. (Id. at 2.)
II.

STANDARD OF REVIEW
In reviewing an FLSA settlement, courts scrutinize the proposed settlement to determine

whether the settlement is a “fair and reasonable resolution of a bona fide dispute over FLSA

provisions.” Thompson v. United Stone, LLC, No. 1:14-CV-224, 2015 WL 867988, at *1 (E.D.
Tenn. Mar. 2, 2015) (citing Lynn’s Food Store, Inc. v. United States, 679 F.2d 1350, 1355 (11th
Cir. 1982)).
An award of attorneys’ fees and costs to Plaintiff’s counsel must be “reasonable under the
circumstances.” Rawlings v. Prudential-Bache Props., Inc., 9 F.3d 513, 516 (6th Cir. 1993).
The Court “must make sure that counsel is fairly compensated for the amount of work done as
well as for the results achieved.” Id. Two methods may be used, the percentage-of-the-fund
method and the lodestar method, and the Court must consider which method is more appropriate
for the particular case. Id. The lodestar method calculates the number of hours reasonably
expended by a reasonable hourly rate, while the percentage-of-the-fund method better accounts
for the attorneys’ success. Id.
Courts often also consider the following factors: “(1) the value of the benefit rendered to
the plaintiff class; (2) the value of the services on an hourly basis; (3) whether the services were
undertaken on a contingent fee basis; (4) society’s stake in rewarding attorneys who produce
such benefits in order to maintain an incentive to others; (5) the complexity of the litigation; and
(6) the professional skill and standing of counsel involved on both sides.” Moulton v. U.S. Steel
Corp., 581 F.3d 344, 352 (6th Cir. 2009) (quoting Bowling v. Pfizer, Inc., 102 F.3d 777, 780 (6th
Cir. 1996)).
III.

ANALYSIS
The Court FINDS that the proposed settlement payment of $6,602.00 to Plaintiff is a fair

and reasonable resolution of a bona fide dispute. The Court further FINDS that attorney’s fees
and costs of $898.00 are reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances. Accordingly, the
motion (Doc. 37) is GRANTED, and the settlement agreement (Doc. 37-1) is APPROVED.

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The Court will DISMISS WITH PREJUDICE this action.
IV.

CONCLUSION
For the reasons above, the Court GRANTS the motion (Doc. 37) and hereby:

1. APPROVES the settlement agreement for an amount of $6,602.00 payable to Plaintiff;
2. AWARDS reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses to Plaintiff’s counsel in the amount
of $898.00; and
3. DISMISSES this action WITH PREJUDICE.
AN APPROPRIATE JUDGMENT WILL ENTER.
/s/ Travis R. McDonough
TRAVIS R. MCDONOUGH
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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