Romero v. La Revise Associates, L.L.C.

58 F. Supp. 3d 411, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159127, 2014 WL 5840531
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 12, 2014
DocketNo. 12 Civ. 8324(GWG)
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 58 F. Supp. 3d 411 (Romero v. La Revise Associates, L.L.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Romero v. La Revise Associates, L.L.C., 58 F. Supp. 3d 411, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159127, 2014 WL 5840531 (S.D.N.Y. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GABRIEL W. GORENSTEIN, United States Magistrate Judge.

Ruben Romero (“Romero”) sued La Revise Associates, LLC d/b/a Brasserie Ruhl-mann, Jean Denoyer, and Regis Marnier (collectively, “defendants”) for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq. (“FLSA”), and the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”). Plaintiff commenced the action as an FLSA collective action under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), and a putative class action as to the NYLL claims under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The parties have consented to conduct all proceedings before the undersigned, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).

Romero now seeks an order certifying the settlement class; approving the class action settlement; approving the FLSA settlement; and awarding a service award to named plaintiff Romero, attorneys’ fees and costs to class counsel, and fees to the claims administrator. For the following reasons, the motions (Docket ## 78, 81, 83) are granted, with certain modifications detailed below.

I. BACKGROUND

The complaint alleges that Romero and other members of the FLSA collective and NYLL putative class were employed by defendants. See Complaint, filed Nov. 15, 2012 (Docket # 1) (“Compl.”), ¶ 10. It alleges that defendants failed to pay them the minimum required hourly wage, failed to properly inform them of their rights under the FLSA, and failed to provide them with adequate wage statements. See id. ¶¶41, 44, 51-52. The proposed class has been defined to include defendants’ [417]*417current and former employees who worked as nonexempt employees from November 15, 2006 through February 1, 2014 and who did not have arbitration agreements with defendants. See Order, dated July 2, 2014 (Docket # 72) (“Preliminary Approval Order”), ¶ 5.

After extensive negotiations, the parties entered into a Settlement Agreement in April 2014. See Declaration of C.K. Lee in Support of Plaintiffs Unopposed Motion for Certification of the Settlement Class, Final Approval of the Class Settlement and Approval of the FLSA Settlement, filed Sept. 2, 2014 (Docket #80) (“Lee Decl.”), ¶¶ 14-15. That agreement creates a fund of $250,000, which will cover class members’ awards, a service award to Romero, attorneys’ fees and costs, and administration costs. Id. ¶ 20. According to plaintiffs counsel, the Settlement Agreement provided that after the deduction of attorneys’ fees and costs, administration fees, and a service payment to Romero, each member of the “Non-Tipped Subclass” — that is, employees who were not receiving tips — would receive a payment of $100. See Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiffs Unopposed Motion for Certification of the Settlement Class, Final Approval of the Class Action Settlement and Approval of the FLSA Settlement, filed Sept. 2, 2014 (Docket #79) (“PI. Mem.”), at 2, 4. Each member of the “Tipped Subclass” would receive allocations based on their weeks worked, as recorded in defendants’ records. Id. at 4.

On July 2, 2014, this Court preliminarily approved the Settlement Agreement. See Preliminary Approval Order ¶ 1. The Court also provisionally certified the settlement class as consisting of “[a]ll current and former employees of Defendants who worked as non-exempt employees from November 15, 2006 through February 1, 2014 and who did not have arbitration agreements and are listed on Exhibit A to the Settlement Agreement.” Id. ¶ 5. Additionally, the Court appointed plaintiffs counsel C.K. Lee as class counsel for settlement purposes, id. ¶ 8, and approved a notice to class members informing them of the proposed settlement (the “Notice”), id. ¶10.

The Notice was sent to all 486 identified potential class members on July 24, 2014. Lee Decl. ¶¶ 17, 21. That Notice summarized the Settlement Agreement and informed the potential class members of their rights under the settlement, including their right to opt out or object. See Notice of Pendency of Class Action and Proposed Settlement, dated July 24, 2014 (annexed to Preliminary Approval Order, Docket # 72). It also informed them that Romero sought a $10,000 service award, that class counsel sought fees in the amount of one-third of the settlement fund to be deducted from that fund, and that the administrator’s fee of $25,000 would also be deducted from the settlement fund. See id. at 3, 5.

The Notice provided that potential class members who wished to opt out of the settlement should send signed, written statements, postmarked by August 18, 2014. Id. at 5. Between August 7, 2014, and August 13, 2014, five such statements were filed with the court (Docket ## 73-77). Additionally, on October 6, 2014, the court received one late opt-out notice (Docket # 86). No objections to the settlement were filed.

On October 17, 2014, this Court held a fairness hearing. No class member appeared at 3 that hearing, nor has any member opposed the proposed settlement.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Final Certification of the Settlement Class

Under Rule 23(a), a class must meet the requirements of numerosity, commonality, [418]*418typicality, and adequacy in order to be certified by the court. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 28(a). Additionally, the class must fall into at least one of the three categories set out in Rule 28(b).

1. Rule 23(a)

Here, the class consists of 486 members, see Lee Decl. ¶21, and thus is “so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable,” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a)(1). See, e.g., Consol. Rail Corp. v. Town of Hyde Park, 47 F.3d 473, 483 (2d Cir.1995) (“[Njumerosity is presumed at a level of 40 members.... ”).

Second, there are “questions of law or fact common to the class.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 23(a)(2). Commonality “does not mean that all issues must be identical as to each member,” but rather requires “that plaintiffs identify some unifying thread among the members’ claims that warrants class treatment.” Kamean v. Local 363, Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of Am., 109 F.R.D. 391, 394 (S.D.N.Y.1986) (citations omitted). Here, all class members claim that defendants failed to pay them the required minimum wage and off-the-clock wages and that defendants failed to provide pay stubs and required notices. See Compl. ¶¶ 51-52. All of these claims are similar and arise under the NYLL. While the details of individual plaintiffs’ claims might vary, there is sufficient overlap to establish a “unifying thread” among plaintiffs.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Jackson v. Ampac Paper, LLC
S.D. New York, 2025
Altnor v. Preferred Freezer Services, Inc.
197 F. Supp. 3d 746 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2016)
Gonzalez v. Scalinatella, Inc.
112 F. Supp. 3d 5 (S.D. New York, 2015)
Flores v. Mamma Lombardi's of Holbrook, Inc.
104 F. Supp. 3d 290 (E.D. New York, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 F. Supp. 3d 411, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159127, 2014 WL 5840531, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/romero-v-la-revise-associates-llc-nysd-2014.