Cohen v. Consilio LLC

Background

The court considered Bruce C. Cohen’s motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e), which allows a party to ask the court to alter or amend a judgment in limited circumstances. On March 6, 2024, the court granted summary judgment for Consilio LLC and Consilio Services, LLC. The court’s earlier decision dismissed Cohen’s claims under the Minnesota Wage Theft Act, the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Minnesota Payment of Wages Act.

Cohen’s arguments

Cohen argued that the court had erred by deciding that he could not seek statutory penalties under the Minnesota Payment of Wages Act. He also argued that dismissing his Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act claims with prejudice prevented him from seeking an injunction requiring Consilio to obey the law. Finally, he argued that the court should have allowed him to pursue attorney’s fees.

Court’s reasoning

The court explained that a Rule 59(e) motion is intended to correct a clear legal or factual error or address newly discovered evidence. It is not an opportunity to present arguments that could have been made earlier or to repeat arguments that the court already rejected.

After reviewing the summary-judgment briefing and the briefing on the current motion, the court concluded that Cohen was attempting to relitigate issues previously raised. The court noted that he relied on no new evidence or recently developed law.

Disposition

The court denied Cohen’s Rule 59(e) motion. The order did not alter the court’s prior summary-judgment decision.