Canaveral v. Midtown Diner NYC, Inc.

Background

Santiago Canaveral brought this action against Midtown Diner NYC, Inc., doing business as Midtown Restaurant, Nikkos Karadimas, and Vasilis. He asserted claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL) for unpaid minimum and overtime wages and related wage-notice and wage-statement violations.

The court had previously granted Canaveral’s motion for a default judgment and referred the calculation of damages to Magistrate Judge James L. Cott. The defendants did not respond to Canaveral’s submissions concerning damages. Magistrate Judge Cott issued a report recommending an award of $67,509 in damages, prejudgment and postjudgment interest, and $5,844 in attorneys’ fees and costs. No party filed objections.

Court’s review of the damages

Because there were no objections, the court reviewed the report for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake after reviewing the record. The court found no clear error and agreed that Canaveral could not recover twice under both the FLSA and NYLL for the same injury. The report properly used the NYLL because it provided the greater recovery and applied the higher New York minimum-wage rates for large employers.

The court approved $28,754.50 for unpaid minimum and overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. It also approved $5,000 for missing wage notices and $5,000 for missing wage statements, for $10,000 in statutory damages. The total damages award was therefore $67,509.

The court also approved prejudgment interest at 9% per year on $28,754.50, accruing from April 23, 2018, until judgment was entered. It approved postjudgment interest on all awarded sums from entry of judgment until payment.

Attorneys’ fees and costs

The court approved the report’s reductions to the requested attorneys’ fees. It approved $4,674 for associate attorney Silvia Stanciu, $230 for paralegal Marialyn Acevedo, and $500 for junior associate Kenneth Abeyratne, for total attorneys’ fees of $5,404. The court also approved $440 in costs rather than the $601.36 requested because supporting documentation was not provided for certain process-server and postage charges. Attorneys’ fees and costs totaled $5,844.

Disposition

Judge George B. Daniels adopted Magistrate Judge Cott’s report in full. The defendants were ordered to pay Canaveral $67,509 in damages, $5,844 in attorneys’ fees and costs, prejudgment interest on $28,754.50 calculated when judgment was entered, and postjudgment interest on all sums awarded.