Keck v. City of Seattle

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE BRADLEY A. KECK, MICHAEL R. Case No. 2:18-CV-1146-RSL JEPPESEN and HERBERT W. WILSON, ORDER ON JOINT MOTION 11 Plaintiffs, FOR APPROVAL OF 12 v. SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT THE CITY OF SEATTLE, Defendant.

This matter comes before the Court on the parties’ “Joint Motion for Approval of Settlement Agreement.” Dkt. #38.

18 On August 4, 2018, plaintiffs Bradley A. Keck, Scott A. Remillard, Michael R. Jeppesen and Herbert W. Wilson filed a complaint against the City of Seattle (“the City”). Dkt. #1 (Compl.). Plaintiffs brought six causes of action against the City for violations of Seattle’s Wage Theft Ordinance, see SMC 14.20.020, Washington’s Minimum Wage Act, see RCW 49.46.130, the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and RCW 49.52.050, as well as for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Id. at ¶¶ 4.1–4.25. The parties stipulated to the dismissal of all claims brought by plaintiff Remillard on November 16, 2018. Dkt. #14.

Parties participated in a mediation on July 22, 2019 and reached a settlement. Dkt. #37; see Dkt. #38 at 2. On July 31, 2019, they filed a joint motion requesting the Court to issue an order approving their Settlement Agreement, which includes a waiver and release by plaintiffs of all claims against the City, including their FLSA claims. Id. at 3. While the Court has previously held that its responsibility to review a proposed class action settlement to determine whether the settlement is “‘fundamentally fair, adequate, and reasonable’ … does not extend to the context of individual settlement agreements”, it will make an exception in this case and review the Settlement Agreement. Wilson v. Maxim Healthcare Servs., Inc., No. C14-789RSL, 2017 WL 2988289, at *1 (W.D. Wash. June 20, 2017) (quoting Staton v. Boeing Co., 327 F.3d 7 938, 959 (9th Cir. 2003)).

For the foregoing reasons, the Court hereby ORDERS the parties to make the Settlement Agreement available for in camera inspection and review.

DATED this 23rd day of August, 2019.

13 A 14 Robert S. Lasnik United States District Judge