Opinion
Civil Action No. DKC 16-0021
03-08-2016
YOLANDA RAMOS v. J & Y CHOICE, LLC, et al.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
The parties recently submitted a joint motion for approval of their settlement under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the "FLSA"). (ECF No. 10). The settlement provides that Defendants shall pay Plaintiff the total amount of $10,600.00, of which $7, 403.50 is for attorney's fees and costs. (ECF No. 10-1, at 1-2). According to the joint motion, "the parties agree that Plaintiff is entitled to $1,584.75 in unpaid overtime wages," and the settlement provides the full amount of liquidated damages to which Plaintiff is owed under the FLSA. (ECF No. 10, at 1). The complaint, however, sought $30,000 in damages as a result of 1,341 unpaid overtime hours, which Plaintiff calculated equaled "between approximately $6,000 and $10,000 in unpaid overtime wages." (ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 21-22).
The parties will be required to supplement the joint motion with one of two forms of additional information. If the amount requested in the settlement is, in fact, the full amount to which Plaintiff is entitled under the FLSA, the parties shall provide documentation supporting this assertion, particularly in light of the significant discrepancy between the settlement amount and the amount sought in the complaint. If a bona fide dispute remains, the parties shall provide briefing on the fairness and reasonableness of the settlement, and documentation supporting the request for attorney's fees. Any award of attorney's fees to Plaintiff will turn on application of the traditional lodestar methodology factors. The starting point in the lodestar calculation is multiplying the number of hours reasonably expended by a reasonable hourly rate. Robinson v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, 560 F.3d 235, 243 (4 Cir. 2009). In addition, the specific facts of the case are to be considered in calculating a reasonable figure. In assessing reasonableness, the Fourth Circuit has instructed district courts to consider certain factors, including:
(1) the time and labor expended; (2) the novelty and difficulty of the questions raised; (3) the skill required to properly perform the legal services rendered; (4) the attorney's opportunity costs in pressing the instant litigation; (5) the customary fee for like work; (6) the attorney's expectations at the outset of the litigation; (7) the time limitations imposed by the client or circumstances; (8) the amount in controversy and the results obtained; (9) the experience, reputation and ability of the attorney; (10) the undesirability of the case within the legal community in which the suit arose; (11) the
nature and length of the professional relationship between attorney and client; and (12) attorneys' fees awards in similar cases.Barber v. Kimbrell's, Inc., 577 F.2d 216, 226 n.28 (4 Cir. 1978). Thus, Plaintiff is advised that, in submitting the requested information, she should provide all documentation necessary to make a lodestar determination, including but not limited to (1) declarations establishing the hours expended by counsel, broken down for each task; and (2) support for the reasonableness of counsel's hourly rate. See Plyler v. Evatt, 902 F.2d 273, 277 (4 Cir. 1990) ("In addition to the attorney's own affidavits, the fee applicant must produce satisfactory specific evidence of the prevailing market rates in the relevant community for the type of work for which he seeks an award.") (internal quotation marks omitted). Moreover, any request for attorney's fees must comport with the requirements and guidance set forth in Local Rule 109 and Appendix B to the Local Rules.
Accordingly, it is this 8 day of March, 2016, by the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, ORDERED that:
1. The parties BE, and the same hereby ARE, DIRECTED to supplement their joint motion pursuant to the foregoing Memorandum Opinion within fourteen (14) days; and
2. The clerk will transmit copies of this Memorandum Opinion and Order to counsel for the parties.
/s/_________
DEBORAH K. CHASANOW
United States District Judge