Tadeo v. Abitino Foods, Inc. d/b/a Abitino's Pizzeria
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:16-cv-02432
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Tadeo v. Abitino Foods, Judge Engelmayer entered default judgment for plaintiffs for unpaid settlement funds, interest, and fees.
The ruling affects the plaintiffs in the settled Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law case and requires the defendants—Abitino Foods, Inc. d/b/a Abitino’s Pizzeria and Mario Abitino—to pay the remaining settlement balance, interest, and attorneys’ fees and costs.
What happened
In Tadeo v. Abitino Foods, the parties settled plaintiffs’ claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law, but defendants did not make most required payments. The settlement required defendants to pay $283,860.06 in total, and defendants paid only $10,000.
Plaintiffs moved for default judgment for the unpaid settlement balance and for attorneys’ fees and costs incurred enforcing the settlement. A magistrate judge recommended granting the motion in full. No party objected to that recommendation.
Judge Engelmayer adopted the recommendation after finding no clear error and granted plaintiffs’ motion for a default judgment. The court entered judgment for $273,860.06, plus interest calculated by the Clerk of Court and $10,645.50 in attorneys’ fees and costs.
The detailed version
- Tadeo v. Abitino Foods, Inc. d/b/a Abitino's Pizzeria · No. 1:16-cv-02432
- Paul Engelmayer
- Dec. 9, 2020
Background
Plaintiffs brought claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law against Mario Abitino and Abitino Foods, Inc. d/b/a Abitino’s Pizzeria. The court approved the parties’ settlement agreement on February 11, 2019, after the case had been certified as a collective action.
The settlement agreement required two equal payments into a qualified settlement fund and six monthly payments of attorneys’ fees and costs. Based on the number of plaintiffs who joined the settlement, defendants were required to pay $283,860.06. The defendants and several other individuals executed confessions of judgment authorizing entry of judgment for the unpaid settlement amount, plus interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs.
Payment Defaults and Motion
Defendants failed to make the first three payments required by the settlement agreement. Plaintiffs initially moved to enforce the agreement and sought $141,930.04, representing those three missed payments. After additional conferences to address defendants’ noncompliance, defendants paid plaintiffs $10,000 in total but otherwise failed to make the required payments. The remaining settlement balance was therefore $273,860.06.
On June 9, 2020, plaintiffs moved for a default judgment seeking the unpaid settlement amounts and $10,645.50 in attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in enforcing the agreement. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker recommended granting the motion in full.
Court’s Review and Ruling
Because no party objected to the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, Judge Engelmayer reviewed it for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake visible from the record. He found no facial error and adopted the recommendation.
Judge Engelmayer granted plaintiffs’ motion for a default judgment. The court entered judgment in plaintiffs’ favor for $273,860.06, representing the remaining settlement balance, plus interest to be calculated by the Clerk of Court and $10,645.50 in attorneys’ fees and costs. The opinion notes that plaintiffs identified the fee amount inconsistently in different filings, but the billing records supported the $10,645.50 figure. The court also stated that defendants’ failure to object waived appellate review of the report and recommendation.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.