Garcia-Severino v. TDL Restoration, Inc.

Background

Plaintiff Juventino Garcia-Severino sued TDL Restoration, Inc., TDL Management Corp., Driton Quni, and Gjon Quni under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal wage law, and the New York Labor Law. After a bench trial on October 19, 2020, the court returned a verdict for Garcia-Severino against TDL Restoration, Inc., Driton Quni, and Gjon Quni jointly and severally. The verdict included $15,942.86 in unpaid overtime compensation, the same amount in liquidated damages, $10,000 in statutory penalties, and prejudgment interest. The claims against TDL Management Corp. were dismissed.

The court had already determined that Garcia-Severino was entitled to reasonable attorney fees and costs, but reserved the amount for later briefing. Garcia-Severino requested $44,830 in fees and $1,433.75 in costs. The defendants opposed part of the request and sought reductions for block billing, duplicative billing, administrative tasks, and excessive billing.

Court’s analysis

The court accepted hourly rates of $400 for Plaintiff’s counsel and $100 for the legal assistant, who also translated for Spanish-speaking clients. It found that block billing did not require a reduction because the entries contained enough detail to show that the time was productively spent.

The court reduced the award by $630 because the legal assistant was incorrectly billed at the attorney rate for two entries. It reduced the award by another $315 for administrative-task and time-entry adjustments. The court rejected a reduction based on the assistant’s participation in client meetings because the assistant served as a translator. It also rejected the defendants’ argument that the fee request had to be proportionate to the damages award.

The court found that the claimed 108.49 hours were excessive because the case was uncomplicated, involved no discovery, and included substantial time preparing for mediation and trial. It applied an additional across-the-board 10% reduction to the corrected fee request. The court found the requested costs reasonable and unopposed.

Disposition

Judge Cathy Seibel granted in part Garcia-Severino’s application for attorney fees and costs. The court reduced the requested fees from $44,830 to $39,496.50 and awarded $1,433.75 in costs, for a total fee-and-cost award of $40,930.25.

The Clerk was directed to terminate the fee motion, enter judgment for TDL Management Corp., enter judgment for Garcia-Severino jointly and severally against TDL Restoration, Inc., Driton Quni, and Gjon Quni for $41,885.72 in liability, $7,913.34 in prejudgment interest subject to a daily increase if judgment was not entered that day, and $40,930.25 in fees and costs, and close the case.