ST. LOUIS – Settlement of a seven-year-old Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuit against DirecTV and others appears to have been reached, according to federal court documents.
According to a joint motion to approve settlement filed Aug. 31 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, plaintiffs Jamie Arnold and Clinton Feger and the defendants moved for the approval, which would also dismiss the case with prejudice. The motion indicates the agreement was filed separately under seal.
The plaintiffs had alleged that Aerosat, which is a satellite internet and antenna provider, had violated the FLSA because it failed to pay for all hours worked and failed to properly pay overtime. Their suit further claimed that DirecTV, a satellite television provider, was liable for those violations.
Arnold had claimed to have worked for eight weeks during the relevant time period; Feger had claimed nine weeks.
The defendants had argued that the plaintiffs were properly paid for their hours worked and they were exempt from overtime pay under the FLSA's retail exemption, according to background information in the court document. The defendants also claimed that the plaintiffs had insufficient evidence to support their allegations of unpaid overtime.
While the court had granted DirecTV's motion for summary judgment as to plaintiffs' claims for gap time, it ruled there were issues of material fact that would preclude summary judgment on most of the issues argued by each side.
"The settlement agreement was reached after negotiations between the parties and is viewed as fair by both sides," the document states.
It goes on to state that the settlements resolve the plaintiffs' claims for attorneys’ fees and costs.
"The parties, including DIRECTV, Plaintiffs’ counsel, and Plaintiffs, have all agreed to the amount of the fees – making this an ideal settlement from the perspective of the United States Supreme Court," the document states.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys at Stueve Siegel Hanson in Kansas City and by attorneys at Lear Werts in Columbia.
The defendants are represented by attorneys at Littler Mendelson in St. Louis and Chicago.