CAMDEN – A federal judge has rejected a proposed settlement of a lawsuit alleging former Camden City police officers were not paid for overtime hours.

The ruling marked the second setback for the lawsuit, filed in April 2012 as a proposed class-action suit for some 170 city cops.

In the first reversal, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ann Marie Donio denied class-action status to the suit on Jan. 15. That blocked a proposed settlement worth up to $150,000.

On Wednesday, Donio rebuffed a smaller settlement on behalf of the suit’s three named plaintiffs — former officers Edgar Feliciano, Robert Chew and Xemaril Cruz.

This time, the city had agreed to pay about $16,000 to settle the suit — $750 each for Feliciano, Chew and Cruz, and $14,000 for their legal expenses.

“We were quite surprised (by Donio’s ruling),” said Jodi Jaffe, a Lawrenceville attorney representing the former officers. An attorney for the city could not be reached.

In contrast, the January settlement proposal had offered $500 each to prospective class members, an additional $1,000 each for the three original plaintiffs, and $47,000 for legal expenses.

“We had 170 officers all saying basically the same thing,” Jaffe said of the request for class certification. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, that would be approved.”

But in each ruling, Donio said the former officers had not provided enough evidence to support their claims.

Her ruling noted the city contends the lawsuit’s allegations are “meritless” and it has not violated state or federal laws regarding overtime pay. The city says it wants to settle the dispute “to avoid the burden and expense of prolonged litigation,” the decision added.

Donio said she “has no reason to believe that the settlement agreement is unfair,” but that she lacks an “adequate foundation to make an independent judgment.”

Donio said she could not determine that $750 per plaintiff was “a reasonable compromise” because the former officers had given no estimate of the overtime pay they’re allegedly owed.

She also refused to award $14,000 in legal fees, an amount described as about 85 percent of the plaintiffs’ actual expenses. Donio said she could not determine the fee amount was reasonable in part because she could not say whether the payment for the plaintiffs was also fair.

Donio ordered the two sides to prepare a revised settlement by Aug. 15.

The former city police force ceased operations in May 2013, when it was replaced by the Camden County Police Department.

Jim Walsh; (856) 486-2646; [email protected]