Settlements

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In Simons v. Lee Litigation Group, PLLC et al, No. 151692/2020, 2021 WL 3624940 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Aug. 12, 2021), the court granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment against the defendants for breach of contract (settlement agreement). In sum, the parties reached a settlement, the terms of which were memorialized in a…

Read More Settlement Agreement Enforced, Notwithstanding FLSA Provision in Generic Release Provision
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Ordinarily on this blog I write about substantive and procedural legal issues arising in employment and personal injury litigation. But recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision (more precisely, a “Summary Order”) that is instructive on an issue that potentially arises in litigation of all types, namely, the interpretation…

Read More Second Circuit: “As Of”, in Settlement Agreement, Means “On”
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In Cano v. Cherry Lawn Farms, Inc. et al, No. 19-9469, 2021 WL 2481489 (S.D.N.Y. June 17, 2021), the court denied (without prejudice) the parties’ application to approve, in accordance with Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc., 796 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2015), a settlement agreement resolving plaintiff’s claims for unpaid wages in violation of…

Read More FLSA Settlement Disapproved, Based on One Provision Regarding Additional Claims
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In a recent bulletin, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the resolution (via Consent Decree) of plaintiff’s gender/pregnancy discrimination claim against Manhattan restaurant Lucy’s Cantina Royale. Notably, from the bulletin: The EEOC’s lawsuit asserted that the restaurant group fired a server working at Lucy’s Cantina Royale after it learned of her pregnancy and…

Read More EEOC Reports $45,000 Settlement in Pregnancy Discrimination Suit Against Lucy’s Cantina Royale
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A recent case, Lopez v. Uno Express Cleaners Inc., 18-cv-10737, 2019 WL 6873796 (SDNY Dec. 17, 2019), illustrates how courts evaluate settlement agreements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as mandated by the Second Circuit’s decision in Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc., 796 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2015). In this case, plaintiff, who was…

Read More FLSA Settlement Rejected in Light of Overbroad Release
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A recent decision, Grant v. Almonte, 2019 NY Slip Op 00057 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 3, 2019), provides some insight into the mechanics of an “open court” settlement under New York Civil Practice Law & Rules 2104. That statute provides: An agreement between parties or their attorneys relating to any matter in an action, other than…

Read More Marking Court File Did Not Qualify as a CPLR 2104 Stipulation
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Employment discrimination cases are often resolved by settlement – i.e., a negotiated agreement for the parties to discontinue a case on agreed-upon terms. A settlement can be reached either before or after the commencement of litigation. In many, if not most, cases, the agreement will be reduced to a writing and signed by the parties.…

Read More Settling an Employment Discrimination Case: The Agreement
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Buried within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (signed into law on Dec. 22, 2017) is a provision, at Sec. 13307, titled “Denial of Deduction for Settlements Subject to Nondisclosure Agreements Paid in Connection With Sexual Harassment or Sexual Abuse”. This section amends Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C.) 162 by adding a new section, section 162(q),…

Read More Sexual Harassment Settlements Affected By New Tax Law
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A recent upstate appellate decision addresses the correlation between a sexual harassment claim, on the one hand, and workers’ compensation benefits, on the other. In Shiner v. Suny at Buffalo, No. 522762, 2016 WL 6782717, (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dept. Nov. 17, 2016), the court affirmed the Workers Compensation Board’s decision that claimant’s failure to obtain…

Read More Sexual Harassment Settlement Bars Further Workers Compensation Benefits, De
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