Liu v. Five Stars Beauty Spa, Inc.

Background

Shu Juan Liu, also known as Shujuan Liu, brought claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law against Five Stars Beauty Spa, Inc., doing business as All Seasons Body Work and Five Stars Beauty Spa; Shenhua Wang; and Xia Zhou, also known as Dina Doe. The opinion states that the defendants did not file an answer or otherwise formally appear.

Liu moved for default judgment, which the court granted on February 23, 2023. The court then referred the case to Magistrate Judge Parker to determine damages and attorneys’ fees. Judge Parker issued a report and recommendation on May 17, 2023. No party objected to the report.

Court’s Review and Award

Because there were no objections, the court reviewed the report for clear error—an obvious mistake on the face of the record. The court found no error and adopted the report in its entirety.

The court awarded Liu:

- $159,723.20 in unpaid minimum wages, overtime, and spread-of-hours compensation; - $159,723.20 in liquidated damages; - $8,800 in attorneys’ fees; - $546 in costs; - prejudgment interest on $159,723.20 at 9% per year from November 15, 2018, through entry of judgment; and - post-judgment interest from entry of judgment until payment, calculated at the federal rate under 28 U.S.C. § 1961.

The opinion also notes that the court assumed certain apparent typographical errors in the report’s tables were intended to refer to March 31, 2020, and corrected wording in one table heading.

Disposition

Judge Ronnie Abrams adopted Judge Parker’s report and recommendation in full. The Clerk of Court was directed to enter judgment for Liu and close the case.