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Nature of Suit Code: 710
Nature of Suit: Fair Labor Standards Act
Cause of Action: 29:203 Equal Pay Act

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS 

NORTHERN DIVISION 

TINA McMECHEN 

and MADELEINE WATSON PLAINTIFFS 

v. No. 3:18-cv-218-DPM 

BLACKBOARD, INC. DEFENDANT 

ORDER 

As requested, the parties sent their settlement agreement to 

chambers for review. Two loose ends. 

First, notwithstanding the parties' arguments, the Court sees no 

compelling reason to deviate from its usual practice in FLSA cases, 

which is for the agreement to be on the public docket. Delock v. Securitas 

Security Services USA, Inc., NQ 70 in E.D. Ark. No. 4:ll-cv-520-DPM 

(16 November 2012). The parties ask the Court to conclude that their 

settlement is a fair, reasonable, and adequate resolution of a real 

dispute. Lynn's Food Stores, Inc. v. United States, 679 F.2d 1350, 1353 

(11th Cir. 1982). The Court's preliminary thought is that it is. An 

essential ingredient in that determination is the dollars to McMechen 

and Watson. As best the Court can tell, redacting the amounts is 

unnecessary because, by themselves, they don't reveal McMechen' s 

and Watson's salaries. And many of those details are already of record 

in the complaint. NQ 1 at 5. 

Case 3:18-cv-00218-DPM Document 27 Filed 12/19/19 Page 1 of 2
Second, McMechen' s and Watson's lawyers must confirm that the 

proposed fees were negotiated separately from the merits settlement. 

Barbee v. Big River Steel, LLC, 927 F.3d 1024, 1027 n.1 (8th Cir. 2019); 

Melgar v. OK Foods, 902 F.3d 775, 779 (8th Cir. 2018). 

Motion to file under seal, NQ 22, denied. By 10 January 2020, the 

parties must either file their complete agreement on the public docket, 

and confirm separate negotiation of the fee, so the Court can act on the 

motion to approve, NQ 24, or inform the Court that the public filing is a 

deal breaker. If so, an Amended Final Scheduling Order will issue. 

So Ordered. 

D.P. Marshall ff, 

United States District Judge 

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Case 3:18-cv-00218-DPM Document 27 Filed 12/19/19 Page 2 of 2