Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: December Lessons
In October, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed a lower court ruling denying preliminary approval of a class settlement in a case in which bartenders and servers alleged a Pennsylvania restaurant and bar improperly allowed a salaried supervisor to receive tips. Shook Partner Mitch Engel discusses the case and three others in a Law360 article titled “Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: December Lessons.” In his monthly column for Law360, Engel highlights federal appellate decisions with takeaways for attorneys at various stages of class action litigation.
In Lundeen v. 10 West Ferry Street Operations, he said the parties stipulated to, and the district court ordered, conditional certification of a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action and sent notice to class members on how to opt in to the action. The parties then negotiated a settlement under Rule 23(b)(3), with part of the settlement requiring class members to release their FLSA claims. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied preliminary approval, holding that class members who had not opted in to the collective action could not be required by the settlement to waive their FLSA claims. The Third Circuit reversed.
“The key takeaway is the Third Circuit held that to be a plaintiff in an FLSA collective action requires the class member to opt-in but that the plain language of the FLSA statue did not bar the release of unasserted FLSA claims in a court-approved Rule 23 settlement,” Engel says.
Read the article at Law360 >>
In Lundeen v. 10 West Ferry Street Operations, he said the parties stipulated to, and the district court ordered, conditional certification of a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action and sent notice to class members on how to opt in to the action. The parties then negotiated a settlement under Rule 23(b)(3), with part of the settlement requiring class members to release their FLSA claims. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied preliminary approval, holding that class members who had not opted in to the collective action could not be required by the settlement to waive their FLSA claims. The Third Circuit reversed.
“The key takeaway is the Third Circuit held that to be a plaintiff in an FLSA collective action requires the class member to opt-in but that the plain language of the FLSA statue did not bar the release of unasserted FLSA claims in a court-approved Rule 23 settlement,” Engel says.
Read the article at Law360 >>
