Ong v. Kitsap Residences

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA EMMANUEL ONG, Individually and on CASE NO. 3:22-cv-05095-DGE behalf of all others similarly situated, ORDER ON JOINT MOTION FOR Plaintiff, COURT APPROVAL OF v. SETTLEMENT AND DIMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE (DKT. NO. 17) KITSAP RESIDENCES, Defendant. This matter comes before the Court on the parties’ Joint Motion for Court Approval of Settlement and Dismissal of Complaint with Prejudice (Dkt. No. 17). For the reasons discussed herein, the Court DENIES the parties’ joint motion without prejudice to Plaintiff’s ability to voluntarily dismiss this action. On February 16, 2022, Plaintiff filed a collective action suit against Defendant Kitsap Residences pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq. (Dkt. No. 1.) Plaintiff has not, at present, moved for conditional class certification pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). In their joint stipulated motion, the parties ask the Court to enter an order approving their settlement after scrutinizing it for fairness, in accord with Lynn’s Food Stores, Inc. v. United States, 679 F.2d 1350, 1352-53 (11th Cir. 1982). (Dkt. No. 17 at 3.) The Eleventh Circuit has also extended its Lynn’s Food rule to require court scrutiny of individual settlement of FLSA

wage claims. See Nall v. Mal-Motels, Inc., 723 F.3d 1304, 1307 (11th Cir. 2013). The Ninth Circuit has not adopted the rule articulated in Lynn’s Food, see Wilson v. Maxim Healthcare Servs., Inc., No. C14-789RSL, 2017 WL 2988289, at *1 (W.D. Wash. June 20, 2017), and we decline to do so here. Though other courts in the circuit have adopted the Lynn’s Food rule, most of these cases appear to occur in contexts where the approving court has already conditionally certified a class. See, e.g., Millan v. Cascade Water Servs., Inc., No. 112CV01821AWIEPG, 2016 WL 3077710, at *3 (E.D. Cal. May 31, 2016); Otey v. Crowdflower, Inc., No. 12-CV-05524-JST, 2016 WL 304747, at *3 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 26, 2016). Accordingly, the Court declines to adopt the Lynn’s Food rule and therefore DENIES the parties’ joint motion without prejudice. Plaintiff remains free to dismiss this case pursuant to

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a). Dated this 21st day of October, 2022. A David G. Estudillo United States District Judge