On July 28, 2011, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Dionne v. Floormasters Enterprises, Inc. held that an employer is not required to pay a plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees and costs if it denies liability under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and tenders the full amount claimed by the employee, thereby rendering the employee’s claim moot.

The plaintiff, a warehouse clerk for Floormasters Enterprises, filed a complaint to recover overtime compensation under the FLSA, as well as liquidated damages, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. Floormasters filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, arguing that although it “vigorously den[ied] all of Plaintiff’s allegations,” it paid the plaintiff his total estimated damages. The plaintiff conceded that his claim thus became moot, but nonetheless requested that the court award him attorneys' fees and costs on the ground that he was the prevailing party in the action. The district court granted the employer’s motion and denied plaintiff’s request for attorneys' fees.

On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit held that the FLSA plainly requires that the plaintiff receive a judgment in his favor to be entitled to attorneys’ fees. The court found that there was no judgment in this case because the district court played only a minimal role and did not approve any agreement or enforce any settlement order. To hold otherwise, the court cautioned, would encourage plaintiffs to file meritless lawsuits and allow them to still recover attorneys’ fees. 

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