Berger v. Perry’s Steakhouse of Illinois, 14 cv 08543

U.S. District court for the Northern district of Illinois, Eastern Division

Jessica Berger and timothy rendak, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated,

vs.

PERRY’S STEAKHOUSE OF ILLINOIS, LLC, D/B/A PERRY’S STEAKHOUSE AND GRILLE, et al.

Docket No. 1:14-cv-08543

Overview Of Case

This lawsuit was filed in October 2014 by Jessica Berger and Timothy Rendak on behalf of themselves and all other individuals who worked as “servers” at Perry’s Steakhouse of Illinois (“Perry’s) located in Oak Brook, Illinois. The lawsuit alleges that Perry’s violated both federal and state law relating to tipped employees. Primarily the claims related to alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. (“FLSA”) and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, 820 ILCS § 105/1 et seq. (“IMWL”).

A thorough explanation of the composition of the class members, the nature of all claims and the terms and conditions surrounding the settlement can be found in the documents listed. Class certification was granted on March 12, 2018.^[1] The Court ruled on the Parties’ Cross Motions for Summary Judgment on December 23, 2019. The Court entered judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs on one of the Plaintiffs’ claims and one of Plaintiffs’ claims was dismissed. The remaining claims were set for trial.^[2] Perry’s then moved to partially decertify the class. That motion was decided on October 1, 2020.^[3] The trial was reset for January 2021 when the Parties agreed to settle all remaining issues and claims. On February 18, 2021, Judge Thomas Durkin granted the parties’ Joint Motion^[4] for Preliminary Approval of their Amended Settlement Agreement.^[5]

Notice of Settlement was sent to the class on February 22, 2021. The Court has set a final approval hearing for April 6, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. If you wish to attend the final approval hearing, please follow the instructions provided on the Notice of Settlement.