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In an opinion last week in a Fair Labor Standards Case, Judge Engelmayer reduced the requested fee award for plaintiffs’ counsel from $155,000 down to approximately $5,000. The plaintiffs had prevailed, but only as to a narrow aspect of the claim. After the liability verdict in the plaintiffs’ favor (in part), their counsel asked for a fee award without bothering, until prompted by Judge Engelmayer, to request damages for the plaintiffs themselves.

Judge Engelmayer explained that the fee reduction was justified because, inter alia, “plaintiffs’ counsels’ lawyering in support of these claims was anemic”:
Continue Reading Judge Engelmayer Slashes Requested Fee Award Based on “Anemic” Lawyering

In an opinion last week, Judge Pauley refused to allow the parties in an FLSA case to redact portions of a Settlement Agreement, and further refused to approve the settlement itself.

Judge Pauley found that the presumption of public access to judicial documents was fundamentally at odds with the parties’ attempt to settle under a “shroud of secrecy”:
Continue Reading Judge Pauley: Parties Cannot Settle FLSA Case Under “Shroud of Secrecy”

In an opinion yesterday, Judge Furman weighed in on  — and certified for interlocutory appeal — an issue that has divided judges in the Southern District:  whether the requirement that FLSA settlements be approved by the DOL or the Court can be avoided by a settlement accomplished via a Rule 68 offer of judgment.  Because Rule 68 is phrased in mandatory terms (when an offer is accepted, the “clerk must then enter judgment”), some courts have held that there is no room for judicial or DOL approval.

Judge Furman disagreed:
Continue Reading Judge Furman: Parties Cannot Circumvent Approval of FLSA Settlements with Rule 68 Offer of Judgment

Today, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance filed a class action complaint on behalf roughly 5,000 New York City Uber drivers against Uber Technologies and its related entities.  The complaint alleges that Uber’s drivers are misclassified as independent contractors and that Uber’s compensation scheme falls far below statutory minimum wage and overtime requirements.
Continue Reading NYC Uber Drivers File Labor Class Action, Claiming Employee Status

Yesterday, Judge Abrams granted Quinn Emanuel’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed overtime claims brought by a purported class of contract attorneys.  The plaintiff, hired by a third-party staffing firm that provided contract attorneys for Quinn Emanuel’s document review projects, argued that he was entitled to overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New…

In opinion today reducing the attorney’s fees awarded to class counsel in an FLSA case, Judge Pauley criticized the plaintiffs’ attorneys for supporting their fees by citing “caselaw” suggesting that one-third of the recovery is an appropriate amount, when those cases were really signed orders drafted by counsel in other cases:
Continue Reading Judge Pauley Criticizes Attorneys Creating Their Own “Caselaw” By Citing Signed Orders They Drafted in Other Cases