Opinion
No. 1:18-cv-01239-NONE-SAB
05-22-2020
CHAD ENGLERT, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF MERCED, Defendant.
ORDER ADOPTING FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS AND GRANTING APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT OF COLLECTIVE ACTION
(Doc. Nos. 38, 41-43, 45, 46)
Chad Englert, Richard Ramirez, Matthew Van Hagen, Ryan Paskin, and Casey Wilson, on behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated individuals (collectively "Plaintiffs") filed this collective action against the City of Merced ("Defendant") alleging violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. On April 6, 2020, a joint motion for approval of a settlement agreement was filed. The motion was referred to a United States magistrate judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302.
On May 7, 2020, the magistrate judge filed a findings and recommendations recommending that the joint motion for approval of the settlement agree be granted. The plaintiffs were also ordered to file documentation to support their request for costs. The findings and recommendations were served on the parties and contained notice that any objections to the findings and recommendations were to be filed within fourteen (14) days from the date of ///// service. On May 19, 2020, Plaintiff filed a declaration with documentation to support the request for costs.
In accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C), this court has conducted a de novo review of this case. Having carefully reviewed the entire file, the court finds the findings and recommendations to be supported by the record and by proper analysis.
In the supplement filed to support the request for costs and attorney fees, the documentation attached reflected only $3,825.55 in costs and the magistrate judge recommended approving this amount. (Doc. No. 41-1 at 28.) In the current declaration filed to support costs incurred, plaintiffs have submitted documentation to support the full $3,948.17 in costs. The discrepancy occurred because the original filing only included travel expenses totaling $0.55 (the rounded IRS standard rate for mileage not multiplied by the total number of miles) rather than the full amount of mileage requested of $123.17. With this correction, the Court adopts the findings and recommendation approving the request for costs in the amount of $3,948.17.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. The findings and recommendations, filed May 7, 2020, (Doc. No. 45), are ADOPTED;IT IS SO ORDERED.
2. The settlement agreement is APPROVED as fair and reasonable;
3. The joint motion for approval of the settlement agreement is GRANTED;
4. This action is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE; and
5. The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to assign a district judge to this case for the purpose of closure and to close this case.
Dated: May 22 , 2020
/s/_________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE