Facts
- Plaintiffs, including Jacob Barnett and others, allege that Defendant Adman Electric, Inc. failed to pay them required overtime wages under FLSA. [lines="24-29"].
- The lawsuit was initiated due to claims of unpaid overtime for driving out of state and performing other tasks as non-exempt employees. [lines="24-29"].
- A Settlement Agreement was proposed, requiring Defendant to pay up to $117,875 to Plaintiffs, which includes back pay, liquidated damages, and attorney fees. [lines="36-39"].
- The parties negotiated the settlement for nine months to resolve the dispute amicably. [lines="74-75"].
- The Court found the proposed settlement to be a fair and reasonable resolution of a bona fide dispute concerning FLSA provisions. [lines="44-45"].
Issues
- Whether the settlement agreement is a fair, reasonable, and adequate resolution of Plaintiffs' claims against Defendant for FLSA violations. [lines="44-45"].
- Whether Defendant's cooperation in the settlement process indicates a lack of fraudulent conduct or collusion. [lines="70-79"].
Holdings
- The Court held that the proposed settlement is a fair, reasonable, and adequate resolution of the dispute under the FLSA and supports the approval of the agreement. [lines="147-148"].
- The Court found little risk of fraud or collusion in the settlement given the engaged negotiations and experienced representation of Plaintiffs, favoring the settlement's approval. [lines="70-79"].
OPINION
Case Information
*1 THE HONORABLE JOHN H. CHUN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE AVELARDO RIVERA and YASMINE Case No. 2:22-cv-00269-JHC ROMERO, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER Plaintiffs , FOR EXTENSION OF FACT DISCOVERY DEADLINE v. NOTE ON MOTION CALENDAR: AMAZON WEB SERVICES, INC., a April 26, 2024 Delaware corporation,
Defendant . S TIPULATED M OTION AND O RDER FOR E XTENSION OF F ACT D ISCOVERY D EADLINES
- 1 - Case No. 2:22-cv-00269-JHC *2
Plaintiffs Avelardo Rivera and Yasmine Romero (“Plaintiffs”) and Defendant Amazon Web Services (“AWS” or “Defendant”) (collectively, “the Parties”), by their counsel, stipulate and jointly move to (1) extend the deadline for fact discovery as to the Parties by 45 days to June 14, 2024, and (2) extend the deadline for fact discovery as to third parties by 90 days, to July 29, 2024. In support of this stipulated motion, the Parties state as follows:
1. On January 31, 2024, the Court ordered AWS to produce a list of Rekognition customers, and reopened fact discovery for ninety days, to April 30, 2024. (Dkt. 152.) AWS produced a list of more than 90,000 customer accounts on February 21. On March 12, Plaintiffs moved for leave to serve four additional interrogatories regarding the list, requesting that Amazon (1) identify all customers who made over 50,000 API calls using IndexFaces and/or CompareFaces, (2) provide addresses for those customers, and (3) name any customers which it plans to identify in its opposition to class certification. (Dkt. 165.) On March 26, AWS supplemented the list that it produced on February 21.
2. The Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to serve four additional interrogatories on April 5. (Dkt. 192.) Plaintiffs served the interrogatories the same day, making AWS’s deadline to respond May 6. On April 11, AWS served one interrogatory on Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs’ deadline to respond to that interrogatory is May 13. Both Parties’ response deadlines fall after the current April 30 close of fact discovery.
3. On April 22 and April 23, counsel for the Parties conferred via teleconference, and on April 25, reached an agreement over email regarding an extension of time to complete fact discovery.
4. The Parties hereby stipulate and agree, subject to Court approval, to (1) a 45-day extension of the fact discovery deadline as to the Parties (to June 14), and (2) a 90-day extension of the fact discovery deadline as to third parties (to July 29).
5. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4), “[a] schedule may be modified only for good cause and with the judge’s consent.” Good cause exists here. First, the current fact discovery deadline (April 30) conflicts with the Rule 33 deadlines for the Parties to respond to
*4 Respectfully Submitted, AVELARDO RIVERA and YASMINE ROMERO , individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
Dated: April 26, 2024 By: /s/ Wright A. Noel One of Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Wright A. Noel wright@carsonnoel.com
CARSON NOEL PLLC
20 Sixth Avenue NE Issaquah, WA 98027 Tel: 425.837.4717 Fax: 425.837.5396 J. Eli Wade-Scott* ewadescott@edelson.com Schuyler Ufkes* sufkes@edelson.com
EDELSON PC
350 North LaSalle Street, 14th Floor Chicago, Illinois 60654 Tel: 312.589.6370 Fax: 312.589.6378 Philip L. Fraietta* pfraietta@bursor.com Alec M. Leslie* aleslie@bursor.com Max S. Roberts* mroberts@bursor.com BURSOR & FISHER, P.A. 1330 Avenue of the Americas, 32 nd Floor New York, New York 10019 Tel: 646.837.7150 Fax: 212.989.9163 Randall K. Pulliam* rpulliam@cbplaw.com Samuel R. Jackson* sjackson@cbplaw.com
CARNEY BATES AND PULLIAM, PLLC
519 West 7th Street *5 Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 Tel: 501.312.8500 Fax: 501.312.8505 *Admitted pro hac vice Attorneys for Plaintiffs and the Putative Class AMAZON WEB SERVICES, INC ,
Dated: April 26, 2024 By: /s/ Ryan Spear (with authorization) One of Defendant’s Attorneys Ryan Spear, WSBA No. 39974 RSpear@perkinscoie.com Nicola Menaldo, WSBA No. 44459 NMenaldo@perkinscoie.com P ERKINS C OIE LLP 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 4900 Seattle, Washington 98101-3099 Telephone 206.359.8000 Facsimile 206.359.9000 Attorneys for Defendant Amazon Web Services Inc.
*6 LCR 7(e) Certification I certify that this memorandum contains 697 words, in compliance with the Local Civil Rules. /s/ Wright A. Noel *7 ORDER IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED this 26th day of April, 2024.
JOHN H. CHUN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE