Wang v. Leo Chuliya, LTD

Background

Plaintiffs’ attorney, Ricardo R. Morel, submitted a letter concerning an ongoing Fair Labor Standards Act matter. He stated that, after the complaint was filed, defendants had repeatedly harassed a plaintiff and tried to persuade her to withdraw the lawsuit and not testify. He also stated that defendants offered a nominal payment in exchange for an affidavit that the plaintiff believed was false. The letter identified Yan Qiu Zhang and Bin Wang in connection with these allegations.

The letter stated that defendants were represented by Hang & Associates and Jiajing Fan, Esq. Morel said he contacted defense counsel and asked counsel to tell defendants to stop the conduct. According to the letter, counsel responded that Morel’s threats could result in sanctions and said she had no obligation to disclose confidential communications with her clients.

Request

Morel asked the court to issue an order directing defendants to stop harassing the plaintiff, admonish defendants about the alleged conduct, and caution defense counsel about ethical obligations. He stated that he was not moving for an emergency restraining order because he saw no indication of the immediate, irreparable harm required before trial. The letter also noted that the parties had an ordered mediation session scheduled for March 25, 2021.

Ruling

Judge Edgardo Ramos ordered defendants to respond by March 4, 2021. The opinion did not determine whether defendants harassed the plaintiff, whether any affidavit was false, or whether the alleged conduct violated the Fair Labor Standards Act or the federal witness-tampering statute. It also did not grant or deny the requested stop-harassment order in the text provided.