DiMauro v. 189 Chrystie Street Partners, LP ( 2020 )

Brian Pete | EWI S 77 Water Street, Suite 2100 New York, New York 10005 C 3 Brian.Pete@lewisbrisbois.com B [2 IS BO | S Direct: 212.232.1363 LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH LLP August 31, 2020 File No. 11414.813 Application granted. The parties should submit the settlement agreement and an explanation of the fair and reasonable nature of tl VIA ECF settlement in both cases, together with the supporting documentatic The Honorable John G. Koeltl with respect to any request for attorney's fees by September 25, 202 United States District Court for the Southern District of New York SO ORDERED. United States District Judge 500 Pearl Street New York, NY /s/ John G. Koeltl New York, New York 10007 September 2, 2020 John G. Koeltl Re: DiMauro v. 189 Chrystie Street Partners, LP et al. Docket No. 1:20-cv-02619-JGK Dear Judge Koeltl: We represent Defendants 189 Chrystie Street Partners, LP d/b/a The Box NYC, Variety Worldwide, LLC, Simon Hammerstein, and Javier Vivas in the above-referenced matter. We jointly write, along with Plaintiff's counsel, to request that the Court consolidate the above-referenced matter, which was filed on March 27, 2020, with the companion case captioned Ulwick v. 189 Chrystie Street Partners, LP et al., 1:20-cv-02660-KPF (the “Ulwick litigation”), which was subsequently filed on March 30, 2020, for purposes of seeking approval of the parties’ settlement agreements. This action and the Ulwick litigation were both brought by former waitstaff employees of Defendants who assert identical claims against the same set of Defendants. This action and the Ulwick litigation were mediated together through the Court’s mediation program on August 13, 2020 and a global settlement in principle was reached on August 20, 2020. As plaintiffs in both actions assert claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, judicial approval of the parties’ settlement is required under Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc., 796 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2015). Given the identical claims and parties, it would be in the interest of judicial economy to have both cases consolidated for purposes of approving the settlement. This will eliminate the possibility of inconsistent rulings and streamline the settlement process. Accordingly, the parties respectfully request that the Court consolidate the two cases pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(a)(2) so that the parties can file a single motion for approval of the settlement agreements. ARIZONA + CALIFORNIA + COLORADO + CONNECTICUT + FLORIDA + GEORGIA + ILLINOIS + INDIANA + KANSAS + KENTUCKY LOUISIANA + MARYLAND + MASSACHUSETTS + MISSOURI + NEVADA + NEW JERSEY + NEW MEXICO + NEW YORK August 31, 2020 Page 2 We thank the Court for its attention to this matter. Respectfully, /s/ Brian Pete Brian Pete of LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH LLP cc: All Counsel of Record (via ECF) The Honorable Katherine Polk Failla United States District Court (via ECF) LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH LLP UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK -------------------------------------------------------------X MARIELE DIMAURO, Case No. 1:20-cv-02619 (JGK) Plaintiff, -against- 189 CHRYSTIE STREET PARTNERS, LP (d/b/a “The Box NYC”); VARIETY WORLDWIDE, LLC; SIMON HAMMERSTEIN (in his individual and professional capacities); JAVIER VIVAS (in his individual and professional capacities); JOHN DOES 1-10, and XYZ CORPS. 1-10, Defendants. -------------------------------------------------------------X -------------------------------------------------------------X CASSANDRA ULWICK, Plaintiff, Case No. 1:20-cv-02660 (KPF) -against- 189 CHRYSTIE STREET PARTNERS, LP (d/b/a “The Box NYC”); VARIETY WORLDWIDE, LLC; SIMON HAMMERSTEIN (in his individual and professional capacities); JAVIER VIVAS (in his individual and professional capacities); JOHN DOES 1-10, and XYZ CORPS. 1-10, Defendants. -------------------------------------------------------------X ORDER THIS CAUSE is before the Court on the parties’ joint letter motion to consolidate the above- captioned matters. The Court finds good cause to GRANT the Joint Letter Motion. The Court ORDERS that the above-captioned DiMauro and Ulwick cases shall be consolidated pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(a)(2). SO ORDERED, this _____, day of _____________, 2020. ________________________________ HON. JOHN G. KOELTL UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE