Vargas v. J&J Snack Foods Corp.

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION

KRISTY VARGAS, individually and on ) behalf of all other similarly situated ) individuals, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) Case No. 4:22-cv-01187-MTS ) J&J SNACK FOODS CORP., et al., ) ) Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This matter is before the Court on the parties’ Joint Motion for FLSA Settlement Approval. Doc. [43]. After examining the settlement agreement and the parties’ filings, the Court concludes that the litigation involves a bona fide dispute and that the settlement the parties propose is fair and equitable to each side. See Tanner v. Empire Financing, Co., 4:19-cv-0825-SEP, 2020 WL 7316115, at *1–2 (E.D. Mo. Dec. 11, 2020); see also Williams v. BPV Mkt. Place Invs., LLC, 4:14-cv-1047-CAS, 2014 WL 5017934, at *2 (E.D. Mo. Oct. 7, 2014). Thus, the Court will approve the parties’ settlement. The parties also “agree Plaintiffs are entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs for Plaintiffs’ counsel’s efforts in securing the Agreement.” Doc. [43] at 7. But the parties dispute “the measure of attorneys’ fees and costs that would be reasonable and to which Plaintiffs’ counsel is entitled.” Id. To resolve this remaining dispute, the parties have requested that the Court determine and award reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs to Plaintiffs’ counsel through a contested fee application process. To that end, they have requested a briefing schedule. The Court, therefore, will enter a briefing schedule for that process. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the parties’ Joint Motion for FLSA Settlement Approval, Doc. [43], is GRANTED, and the parties’ settlement is APPROVED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs shall file any fee petition no later than Thursday, March 21, 2024. Defendant J&J Snack Foods Corp., Defendant Daddy Ray’s, Inc., and Third-Party Defendant Randstad General Partner (US), LLC shall have fourteen days from the date of the filing of Plaintiffs’ fee petition to file any response or joint response. Plaintiffs may file a reply to any response(s) within seven days of its filing. Dated this 7th day of March 2024. |) he WK UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

_2-