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Defendant's Attorney: Michael J Shoenfelt, et al.

Description: Columbus, Ohio employment law lawyers represented Plaintiff, who sued Defendants on Fair Labor Standards Act violation theories.


On February 17, 2021, Representative Plaintiff filed this case (the “Lawsuit” or the “Action”) against Defendants on behalf of herself and other allegedly similarly situated current and former hourly pre-school employees. (ECF No. 1).

In the Action, Representative Plaintiff alleged that Defendants failed to pay her and other hourly pre-school employees of Defendants overtime for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, § 201 et seq. (“FLSA”). Specifically, Representative Plaintiff alleged that Defendants violated the FLSA by failing to account for all hours worked by hourly employees at Defendants' various preschool locations. (Coffman Decl. ¶ 14; Contreras Decl. ¶ 9; ECF No. 1). Representative Plaintiff alleged that Defendants paid employees through at least two (2) different entities when employees worked at more than one pre-school location during a given pay period and that such pay practices violated the FLSA because the Defendants maintained interrelated operations and common management/ownership of the various preschools. (Coffman Decl. ¶ 14; Contreras Decl. ¶ 9; ECF No. 1). Representative Plaintiff also alleged Defendants failed to track and pay her and other hourly employees for all travel time to and from worksites during the workday resulting in unpaid overtime wages. (Coffman Decl. ¶ 15; Contreras Decl. ¶ 10; ECF No. 1).

Defendants deny these allegations, deny any joint or single employer relationship, and assert that they properly paid their hourly employees, including Representative Plaintiff, for all hours worked.

On May 3, 2021, the Parties filed a Joint Motion to Stay the Case because they agreed to engage in settlement discussions. (ECF No. 14). The Court granted the Parties' Motion to Stay the Case and ordered that they file a joint status report on or before August 27, 2021, unless the action was dismissed first. (ECF No. 15).

The Parties engaged in good faith settlement discussions over the course of approximately three (3) months. Prior to the Parties' settlement discussions, Defendants provided time and compensation records for Representative Plaintiff and other hourly preschool employees that Representative Plaintiff contends are similarly situated. (Coffman Decl. ¶ 17; Contreras Decl. ¶ 12).

Plaintiffs' Counsel performed a damages analysis using this information. (Coffman Decl. ¶ 18; Contreras Decl. ¶ 13). After completing the analysis, Plaintiff served a settlement demand on December 6, 2021. (Coffman Decl. ¶ 19; Contreras Decl. ¶14). The Parties then exchanged numerous settlement proposals before ultimately reaching an agreement on principal terms on March 3, 2022. The Parties filed a Status Report on March 7, 2022, advising the Court of the
settlement reached days earlier. (ECF No. 22). The Parties filed additional status reports on April 6, 2022 (ECF No. 24), May 9, 2022 (ECF No. 26), and June 6, 2022 (ECF No. 28).

In addition to the Representative Plaintiff, the following individuals have joined the case to Dated: Sherry Rechtiene,[1] Darianne Seward,[2] Kensington Brooks,[3] and Kelly Brooks-Matheny[4](collectively “Opt-In Plaintiffs”).
Yorba v. Barrington Sch. (S.D. Ohio 2022)

Outcome: Motion granted.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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