Nasiri v. T.A.G. Security Protective Services Inc.

Background

Elias Nasiri sued T.A.G. Security Protective Services Inc. and other defendants under California labor laws and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The opinion states that Nasiri worked for T.A.G. as a security guard between June 2015 and December 2016. He alleged that he worked more than eight hours per day and forty hours per week, was required to work split shifts, was denied meal and rest breaks, and had to use his personal cell phone for work without reimbursement.

T.A.G. initially appeared through counsel and answered the complaint. Its lawyer later withdrew after stating that T.A.G. had failed to pay expenses or attorney fees. Because T.A.G. could not represent itself in court, the court struck its answer. Nasiri then moved for default judgment against T.A.G.

Legal standard

A default judgment is a judgment entered when a party does not plead or otherwise defend the case. The court may grant such a judgment after considering factors including the strength of the claims, the adequacy of the complaint, the amount of money requested, possible prejudice, the possibility of factual disputes, whether the default resulted from excusable neglect, and the preference for deciding cases on their merits. Although factual allegations generally are treated as admitted after default, allegations about the amount of damages are not automatically accepted.

Court’s reasoning

Nasiri requested $935,256.91 for overtime, meal and rest break claims, Private Attorney General Act penalties, attorney fees and costs, and prejudgment interest. The court found that he had not adequately proved or explained the requested amount. He submitted paystubs showing his hourly rate and a chart assigning damages to each claim, but the chart did not explain how the individual amounts were calculated.

The court also found that Nasiri’s request for $265,668.56 in prejudgment interest was not adequately supported. The opinion states that the underlying damages totaled $72,709 and that California’s legal interest rate is 10 percent per year, but the court could not determine how Nasiri reached the requested interest amount.

Nasiri sought $375,000 in penalties for inaccurate wage statements and $150,000 for failure to reimburse business expenses. Those requests assumed that T.A.G. employed an average of 25 people. The court noted that Nasiri’s second amended complaint did not allege that T.A.G. employed an average of 25 individuals, so that assumption could not be treated as an admitted allegation for purposes of default judgment.

Finally, Nasiri requested $56,805 in attorney fees. The court found that he provided no information supporting his attorneys’ hourly rates or showing that the rates were consistent with those charged in the relevant community for comparable legal services.

Disposition

The court denied Nasiri’s motion for default judgment without prejudice. The order states that Nasiri may file a renewed motion addressing the deficiencies identified by the court. The order did not decide whether T.A.G. was liable on Nasiri’s underlying labor-law claims.