The Cool Air Mechanical lawsuit was a federal wage-and-hour case filed in June 2023 by four workers against Cool Air Mechanical LLC, a Georgia HVAC company, alleging the company failed to pay proper overtime and minimum wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act. A federal judge approved a collective action settlement in July 2025, ending the case.
Who Sued and What They Alleged
Justin Howard, Sean Bowling, Billy Mayville, and Chris Taylor filed the complaint on June 17, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The case, Howard et al v. Cool Air Mechanical LLC, No. 1:23-cv-02725, was assigned to Judge Steve C. Jones.1PACER Monitor. Howard et al v. Cool Air Mechanical LLC
The workers sued under Section 216(b) of the FLSA, the provision that lets employees bring collective actions for unpaid minimum wages or overtime.1PACER Monitor. Howard et al v. Cool Air Mechanical LLC The case was docketed under Nature of Suit code 710, which covers FLSA disputes.2Law360. Howard et al v. Cool Air Mechanical LLC The specific factual allegations — such as whether the plaintiffs claimed misclassification, denied overtime premiums, or off-the-clock work — are contained in filings not publicly available in full. The core legal theory was that Cool Air Mechanical failed to properly compensate employees for overtime or minimum wage hours.
How the Case Ended
On July 27, 2025, the plaintiffs filed an unopposed motion asking the court to approve a consent judgment, attaching a 50-page settlement agreement and a supporting affidavit from plaintiffs’ attorney Dane Steffenson of DANE LAW.1PACER Monitor. Howard et al v. Cool Air Mechanical LLC Judge Jones signed the stipulated judgment two days later, on July 29, 2025, approving the collective action settlement.
The order appointed Rust Consulting as settlement administrator, responsible for distributing payments to the plaintiffs and their counsel under the deadlines in the agreement. The dollar amount of the settlement was not disclosed in publicly available docket entries. The court dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled, and entered final judgment the same day under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b). The court retained jurisdiction only to oversee administration and enforcement of the settlement until the process concludes.1PACER Monitor. Howard et al v. Cool Air Mechanical LLC
Cool Air Mechanical was defended by Pierre-Joseph Noebes and Lisa A. Schreter of Littler Mendelson.1PACER Monitor. Howard et al v. Cool Air Mechanical LLC
Which Cool Air Mechanical This Is
The defendant is Cool Air Mechanical LLC, an HVAC services company based in Marietta, Georgia, with an additional location in Norcross, serving residential and commercial customers across the northern Atlanta metro area.3Cool Air Mechanical. About Cool Air Mechanical It is a distinct entity from Cool Air Mechanical, Inc., a Minnesota company established in 1965 and headquartered in Ham Lake, which is separately owned and has its own unrelated regulatory history.4Cool Air Mechanical. Cool Air Mechanical History The Georgia lawsuit involves only the Georgia company.
Parent Company and a Parallel Wage Case
Cool Air Mechanical LLC was acquired in March 2020 by TurnPoint Services Group, a Louisville, Kentucky-based national home services company. Founder Jake Mazhar continued to lead operations under the Cool Air brand after the acquisition.5Financial Post. TurnPoint Services Acquires Cool Air in Atlanta, GA
TurnPoint, which operates roughly 40 skilled-trade brands, has faced similar wage claims at another subsidiary. In June 2022, technicians at Hunter Super Techs filed a class action alleging they were paid on a piece-rate basis and denied proper overtime when they worked more than 40 hours a week. That lawsuit named TurnPoint’s holding entity, Essential Services Intermediate Holding Corporation, alongside the subsidiary.6Biller & Kimble. Technicians Sue Hunter Super Techs and TurnPoint Services for Unpaid Wages